Girl Meets Senior Year
by gabyellaaaa
Summary: Riley and her friends are about to begin their senior year. They couldnt wait for pron and the senior trip. All of a sudden someone new comes to town and tries to sabotage their senior year, especially the trip. At the senior trip someone catches Lucas's attention and tries to ruin his life. Will Riley, Maya and Farkle be able to save him?
1. Chapter 1

Girl Meet Senior Year:

Riley and her friends are about to begin their senior year. Everything happens in Senior Year. For some high school was a first for everything. It could be first kiss, first **time,** first date, you name it. Riley was so excited especially for prom and the **senior trip.** All of a sudden someone new comes to town and tries to sabotage their senior year, especially the senior trip. There was going to be two senior trips this year. Disneyland and the **ski lodge.** At the ski trip, someone catches Lucas's attention and tries ruin his life. Will Riley, Maya and Farkle be able to save Lucas?

Riley's POV:

It was the beginning of senior year. It was a new year, I was a better version of myself. Junior year wasn't that great, from my secret relationship with Lucas, to his best friend, Billy kissing me after assuming that I liked him, then after that a love triangle formed. Then I started to date Billy, because he was someone who wasn't ashamed to show affection in public, but he had no idea that Lucas and I used to be a thing until the day of Angela's wedding, when that rotten Missy Bradford told him about us. Billy ended up breaking up with me before I even got the chance to tell him that I loved him. But on that same night, Lucas came over to see if I was alright after he heard about the break. At first, he tried to talk to Billy, but he ignored him. After we talked, Lucas and I ended hooking up, but then Billy caught us and called Lucas out on it. They got into a fight, then realized they weren't going to let a girl get between them. So they made me decide who I wanted to be with and of course I chose Lucas.

We dated for almost a year, it was absolutely perfect, then Collin moved to town and we had a sexual chemistry between us that caused us to have random make out sessions. I broke up with Lucas so that I could be with Collin. But when I was Collin, he brought out the dark side of me and caused me to make bad decisions, my parents were definitely furious with me. After that, I lost all of my friends and the only one that tried to stay by my side was Lucas. No matter how hard I tried to push him away, he just wouldn't leave. Then I caught Collin making out with his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, he was doing me while he was doing her. I was angry. So we ended our little fling. Then I re-built the friendships I had, I got Maya and Farkle back.

Now it was senior year, I was single and drama free, well that's what I thought. We were all sitting on the bleachers in the football stadium, waiting to take our senior pictures. As Maya and I sat there, I saw Lucas walking up the stairs. I haven't seen him all summer. Especially after the little dance we shared at junior prom. I went alone, while Lucas went with my friend Bailey. I was so stupid to think that he was going to ask me to junior prom, then he came over and asked me if it was okay if he took Bailey to prom.

* _Flashback to junior prom*_

 _Bailey: "Hey, I'm so glad you're here."_

 _Riley: So am I._

 _Lucas: Well, if it isn't the two most beautiful girls in the room. Drink?_

 _Riley: um, no thank you._

 _Lucas and I stared at each other, it was started to making Bailey a little uncomfortable. Then a slow song came on._

 _Bailey: you two should have this dance._

 _Riley: oh no, I don't want to intrude._

 _Lucas: nah, you wouldn't be. Come, just one song._

 _We linked arms and made our way over to the dance floor._

 _ **B- Riley  
**_ _B- Lucas_

 _I wrapped my arms around his neck, as he held me close, with his hands on my waist._

" _ **You don't have to do this."**_

" _I know I don't have to, but I want to."_

" _The dress looks better without the hoodie."_

" _ **I forgot. I bought it stupidly thinking that you were going to ask me to prom."**_

" _And why is that stupid?"_

" _ **Because you didn't."**_

" _I didn't know we were still open."_

" _ **And I didn't know that we were closed."**_

" _I feel awful but I-"_

" _ **Don't. Don't say it. I want you to know, that when I hurt you, I didn't understand what I was doing. But I do now. I didn't love myself enough to let you love me."**_

 _Then Riley rested her head on his chest and he rested his chin on top her head and the continued to dance until the song was over._

 _*flashback over*_

As soon as Lucas saw us, he came over and sat next to me. "Hey." He said with a smile. "Hey, how was your summer?" I asked. "Texas was fun, but I kind miss going to camp though, you know seeing you there-." He was quickly interrupted by Maya. "Oh, Ranger Rick how nice of you to join us. Did you milking the cows this summer?" she asked sarcastically. "I did indeed. It was quite enjoyable." Lucas said. "Oooohoohooo" Maya said as she rolled her eyes. I was little curious to know what had happen between him and Bailey. So I took all the courage I had and asked him. "So how's Bailey?" I asked. "She's fine. I guess. I don't know. I haven't seen her in a few months, I'm pretty sure she moved. The thing we had pretty much fizzled after prom. I wasn't really feeling it." He said. A part of me was happy that they weren't together. But it also seemed strange that Lucas was single all summer. "Alright seniors! It's time to take the picture, 3-2-1" and with that the photographer took our picture, now we were on paused on a fancy piece of paper that's going to hang on our walls forever. As we walked out of the football stadium, I noticed a new girl. She had long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, she was very thin, but she looked like a goddess. She was turning heads everywhere she walked.

Then she came over to us and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Eva. I'm kind of new here." she said. "Hi, I'm Riley, welcome to John Quincy Adams." I said as I shook her hand. Then Maya and Lucas introduced themselves. Then Lucas left to go meet up with Farkle. "So where are you from?" I asked as we walked to the cafeteria. "Oh, my family and I have been traveling all around the world, so we just moved here from India." She said. I was impressed. Eva seemed pretty cool. But it felt like something was off about her, Maya thought the same thing. "I'm just trying to make new friends. I'll take as many as I could get." She said. "Well you got two new ones right here." Maya said as we all got our lunches and sat down at our table.

Tonight was the senior sleepover, it's where all the seniors camp out on the football field and watch a movie. But I didn't know if I wanted to go or not. Maya and I were in my room getting ready for the sleepover. "Did you know that Lucas was single all summer?" I asked her. "No." she said as she stuffed her blanket into her duffle bag. "It's weird I still feel like there's something between us." I said. "Oh, yeah um yeah after last year's legacy of deceit, double-dealing and damage. You think he would really want to come back for another serving of that? You need to get your house in order before thinking about getting a man in your life." she said. Maya had a point there, I didn't want to hurt Lucas again. "Oh tell me about it." Eva said as she came into my room. "Your mom let me in." she said. "Oh that's fine. Were just having a girl talk." I said. "I am so done with men, well at least high school boys. They are so immature. I wasn't trying to ease drop. It's kind of lonely being the new girl and you guys seem like the only interesting senior girls here. I mean that cheerleader, what's her name Missy? Scares the crap out of me." she said. We agreed with her on that one.

"She just puts on that tough girl act, don't let her get to you." Maya said. "Well, I've been a victim of bullying and I can't really handle any more emotional scarring." Eva said. Maya and I looked at each other, we still had this weird feeling about her but we ignored it anyways. "You were bullied?" I asked in shock. "Well, people get jealous. I'm sure you guys know what it is like." She said. "Where you from again?" Maya asked. "India, I came here to live with my dad. So what's going on with you and your man?" She asked. "Oh please how many hours do you have?" Maya said sarcastically. "It's complicated. But I'm trying to stay away from guy drama and focus on school. Speaking of which have you seen the college apps? I have no idea where to start." I said. Eva looked at me with pity. "You my darling need to learn how to schedule. Now we have a senior sleepover to get to." Maya said. We got into my car and drove off to the school.

We met up with Lucas and Farkle and we set up our sleeping bags on the ground. "Okay time to watch high school movies from Greece to Hairspray!" Missy announced. I still do not know how she became class president. Lucas and I sat down next to each other and got ready for the movie to start. All of a sudden we saw Pink Flamingos instead of Greece. "Pink Flamingos?! What is this? What happened to Greece? Hairspray?" we heard Missy yelling at one of the guys from the film club. "Well this is different." I said. "Well at least it's not high school." Lucas said as I turned to look at him. "Or twilight." He said. I gave him a look. "You remember you made me take you to go see that." He said with a smile. "Okay, well you made me sit through all of the transformer movies." I said. "Oh Bella, Edward, Bella." He mocked. "Okay, I'm a hopeless romantic." I said as I playfully pushed him. "Well don't be a hopeless one." He said as he smiled. We sat there and gazed at each other for a moment there. But then it was quickly interrupted by a nasty scene. "Oh god! That is gross!" Lucas said. He covered my eyes until the scene was over. Everyone was disgusted. "What is this crap show, that's literally a crap show?!" Maya said with disgust.

All of a sudden we saw Missy walking through the field as other students threw cups and candies at the film club. "I said movie magic, not movie tragic! What happened to my sweet romantic high school tween movies" Missy yelled. "You need to take that sick high school movie fetus somewhere else!" one the guys said. "These people need some real John Waters in their lives!" he said. "You are going to give people nightmares!" she hissed. "Well at least their nightmares will be interesting, instead of some sick high school musical trash!" he yelled back. Missy walked away and Rebel followed her. Well I knew what they were about to do.

Meanwhile, Lucas and I were laying cross-diagonally from each other that our hands almost touch. We were looking up at the stars together. "There's a whole lot of stuff going on up there." I said. "A bucket load of stars." He said. "Were just on this tiny spinning of ball." I said. Lucas glanced at me and then looked back up at the sky. "It kind of makes me feel like all this college stuff we have been stressing about is nutter-shuttering." I said as I looked over at him. He was still looking at the sky. "Last time I checked, the earth was still here." He said. Then he looked at me and nodded. "Yup, still one big chunk." He said. We spent the rest of the night looking talking and looking up at the stars until we both fell asleep.

The next morning:

"Good morning seniors! Time to put the shake-up in your wake up and make it happen!" the principal said over the inter-come. Lucas and I both woke up and we let go of each other as soon as we realized we were holding hands. That was a little awkward. We packed up our stuff and walked to our cars, Maya and Farkle were walking in front of us. "So I was wondering if you could come over later and help me on my college essay. You're a pretty decent writer." He said as he put his arm around me. I quickly took his arm off of me. "You know what Lucas, I have my own college essays to do and my own future to worry about." I quickly regretted what just came out of my mouth. All of a sudden I walked away and grabbed Maya and we drove off.

I couldn't believe I just snapped at Lucas like that. All this stress about college was finally getting to me. I knew I had to help. So after dinner I decided to go over to his house, I found myself staring at his front door for about a good ten minutes before I decided to knock. Finally I did, Lucas opened the door. He seemed surprised to see me. "Hey." I said with a smile. "Hey, what're you doing here?" He asked. "I just wanted to apologize. I've been really stressed lately and I shouldn't have snapped at you. Do you still need help?" I asked. He smiled. "Yeah, come on in." he said as he held the door open for me.

We went into his room and he opened his laptop. I joined him on his bed guided him through the applications and helped him with his essay. "I really appreciate this." He said. "Again, I'm really sorry about earlier. I've been really stressed." I apologized again. "It's been a stressful year." he said. Then I turned to look at him and then me eyes moved to his lips. All of a sudden he pulled me into a kiss and we started to make out and that lead to more.

 **So this is the end of the chapter. Do you think Riley and Lucas will get back together? What do you think about Eva? Do you think something will happen with her and Lucas? What do you think her intentions are? As the story goes on, you will see how involved Eva gets in everyone's life, especially Lucas. Stay tuned for chapter 2 xx**


	2. Chapter 2: What Are We?

Chapter 2: What Are We?

Riley's POV:

Maya and I were on our way to Farkle's house for a little pool party. I already knew that Lucas was going to be there. So I looked as cute as I could. I was wear a tan sun hat, with a black brandy Melville crop top with a white floral kimono, and light denim shorts. I was wearing my bikini underneath. Maya was wearing a simple blue dress and sandals and she had on a fedora. I still haven't told her about what had happen with me and Lucas the night before. "So what did you do last night?" I asked. "Nothing much, just laundry and my nails. You?" she said "Oh nothing much, just slept with Lucas." I said as I ran my fingers through my hair. "No way! Tell me what happened?" she said. "Well, I went over to his house and I was helping him with his college essay, then we both agreed that it was a stressful year, and then before you know it we were ripping each other's clothes off." I said. "How was it?" she asked. I gave her a look. "Oh, come on Riles, you can tell me." Maya said. "It was amazing." I said. "What happened after?" she asked. "Well, we were in shock and we laid in his bed for about thirty seconds, then I tapped his leg and said peace." I said. "Peace? You said peace? Maya said. I nodded. "So what are you guys?" she asked. That was a good question. I didn't even know what we were. We continued to talk about it until we finally arrived at Farkle's house.

I parked my car behind Lucas's truck, all of a sudden Farkle's front door opened. "Ladies!" he said as he walked over to us. "Farkle!" we said back. He helped me take the cooler out of my back trunk and we walked to the backyard. Then I saw Lucas there. He looked so beautiful sitting by the pool. I could watch him for days. He was wearing a white vneck, and Hawaii board shorts and sandals. He had sunglasses on and I felt like I was in love. Then I felt someone nudge me in my waist, it was Maya. She made kissy faces at me. I playfully pushed her and we went to go join Smackle, Billy, Yogi, Darby and Zay by the pool.

Lucas got up and gave me a hug. "Hey, I was wondering if we could talk." He said. I nodded and we walked to the other side of the pool. "So about the other night, it was amazing. But there's something that's has been bothering me." he said. "Something has been bothering me as well, I keep wondering what we are. What are we?" I asked. "That's what I was going to ask you. What do you want to be? I'll be fine with whatever you decide." He said. "I don't know. I'm not really good with being put on the spot, when we did that thing, I didn't know what it meant. So I guess were still open." I said. My mind was everywhere. I had no idea what I was saying. "Well, I can give you time to think about it and we can just remain friends for now." he said. "That sounds like a good idea." I said. We walked back to the other side of the pool and Maya shot me a look. I knew what she was thinking but Lucas and I were going to be just friends for now. But I didn't know if that was really what I wanted.

Later on that night, I was driving, having no idea where I was headed. I needed to clear my mind. But I didn't know where to go, or who to talk to. All of a sudden I found myself driving through Lucas's neighborhood. I went drove around in circles debating if I should talk to him again or not. Finally, I decided to do so. I went up to his door and knocked. Luckily, Lucas answered. Before he could say a word, I pulled him into a kiss. The kiss started to deepen. Finally we pulled apart, "Wow. Riley, what was that?" he asked. "It's you, Lucas. It's you that I want in my life, but not just as a friend. I want you as more than just a friend. I won't mess up this time because what we have is special, we understand each other, and I know you still feel that indescribable connection between us. So why don't we try again?" I said. I took a deep breath. I took everything I had to say that to him. Lucas looked like he was in shock. Then he gave me that smile I loved. "Come here." he said as he took my face into his hands and pulled me into a kiss.

The next morning I woke up feeling absolutely amazing. Especially since me and Lucas got back together last night. I was finally going to have the best senior year ever, at least that's what I thought. I walked outside and gave my parents kisses goodbye and met Lucas outside. He was standing in front of his truck waiting for me. He looked so cute standing there. "Hey you." he said as he gave me a kiss. He opened my door for me and we drove off to school. Once we got to school, we walked through the halls, hand in hand, everyone had their eyes on us. Yes, the power couple is back. I thought to myself. "Well, well, well it looks like the cowboy got his cowgirl back." Maya said as she walked up to us. "Riles, Ranger Rick. I'm happy to see that you two are back together." she said. "You are?" Lucas said in a shocked tone. "Yes, as much as it pains me to see my best friend with someone like you, I am" Maya said sarcastically. We all walked to history class together.

As we walked in, Eva was waiting for us. She was in Farkle's seat for some reason. "Hey, why are you in Farkle's seat?" I asked. "Oh, he let me sit here for today." She said with a smile. I looked at Farkle. He was looking down at his desk. He looked really guilty. I knew I had to talk to him after class. "Farkle! That was really nice of you to give your seat to Eva." I said. "What? Oh yeah, I-I guess." He said as he stumbled on his words. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah, I got to go to debate team. I'll see you later." He said. That was so strange. Something was definitely up. It could've had something to do with Eva.

Now where was Lucas, I was at my locker and usually would usually meet me here by now, then I closed my locker and turned around to find Eva talking to him. She kept trying to touch him, but he kept backing away. She is not going to take my man. So I walked over there and pulled Lucas into a deep kiss. Then we pulled apart and he put his arm around my waist. "Oh, hi Eva." I said cheerfully. Eva look surprised. "Oh my god, I didn't know you two were together." she said in an innocent tone. "Well, now you know." I said with a cheerful smile, then I grabbed Lucas's hand and we walked to the parking lot.

I was sitting in my room, then I heard a knock on my window. It was Maya, "Hey weirdo." She said as she climbed through. "Hey, what're you doing here?" I asked. "When am I not here?" she asked. She had a point. "Anyways, what happened with Eva today, I saw you and Ranger Rick talking to her and it did not look good." She said. "She was basically flirting with Lucas, so I went over and claimed what was mine. It had to be done." I said. "Where did my little chump go?" she asked. "She's still here but sometimes she needs to stop being a chump and put someone in their place." I said. "There is something off about her though, I just don't know what it is. Did you notice how weird Farkle was acting today?" she asked. "Yes, I tried to talk to him earlier, but I barely got anything out of him. Do you think it had something to do with Eva?" I asked. "Probably, but maybe this is all in our head." Maya said. Maybe it was all in our head.

 **So the chapter ends here. What do you guys think about Eva? Do you think she's up to something? How far do you think she will go? Stay tuned for chapter three xx**


	3. Chapter 3: Blind Spots

Chapter 3: Blind Spots

Lucas's POV:

My girl and I were enjoying a nice walk around central park. I finally got to call Riley Matthews, my girl again. It was the best feeling in the world. Then I thought about the day, I get to call her Riley Friar. But even though we had a long way to go, I knew I wanted her to be in my future. Then I thought about yesterday, when she got jealous over Eva, speaking of Eva, there was something completely off about her. I just couldn't figure it out.

Eva's POV:

I was sitting in my room, putting up pictures that I took with Riley, Lucas, Maya and Farkle. Then I looked at the photo I took with Riley and Lucas. I took a pair of scissors out of my drawer and start to cut Riley out of the photo, now it was just a photo of me and Lucas. "Amber" my mom called. "Yes?" I said. "Dinner is ready!" she said. "I'll be down in a minute." I said. I threw away Riley's scrap, and I taped the picture of me and Lucas to my mirror. "Pretty soon I'll have you wrapped around my little finger. You'll be mine, Lucas Friar. Just wait and see." I said as I took another look at the photo and walked out of my room. This was already too easy. Riley Matthews, say goodbye to your world.

Riley's POV:

"Hey Riles, remember those cold play tickets we bought a couple months ago when I was dating Brandon?" Maya asked me as she walked up to my locker. "Yes, why?" I said. "Well, they came in the mail today. Remember how we were going to do the whole double date and everything?" she said. "Oh my god! What're we going to do with the extra ticket?" I asked. "We could give it Farkle" she said. "We can't. He's going out of town this weekend." I said. "What about Eva? I mean it wouldn't hurt right?" Maya said. "Oh yeah! We should definitely invite her. Let's go find her." I said as I closed my locker.

Maya and I were walking down the hall and we saw Eva at her locker. "Hey girlies!" she said cheerfully. "Hey, what're you doing this weekend?" I asked. "Nothing, we should definitely hang out!" she said. "Well, we have an extra ticket to see cold play, do you want to tag along?" Maya asked. "I would love to! Who's we?" she asked. "Me, Maya and Lucas." I said. "Lucas?" she said as her face lit up. "Yes." I said as I eyed her suspiciously. "Alright, text me all the details. See you guys in class!" she said as she closed her locker and walked away. All of a sudden, I felt someone kiss my cheek and put me in a headlock. "Give me a kiss and no one will get hurt." The voice teased. I stabbed him in the ribs with my elbow. "Ow!" the voice said. He let go of me and I soon realized it was just Lucas. Maya stood there laughing, "Aww the little cowboy got beat by a girl!" Maya joked. "This is why you don't put me in headlocks babe, I'm so sorry." I said as I gave him a hug. "The only way I'll forgive you is if you give me a kiss." He said. I stood on my tip toes and planted one on him. I heard Maya groan. "Oh gross, I'll just see you guys in class." She said as she walked away. Lucas and I smiled at each other. He took my books and put his free arm around me and we walked to class together.

It was finally Saturday, which meant the Coldplay concert was tonight. Maya, Eva and I were all in my room getting ready. I had on a white flowy tank top with a black skirt, and a red and black plaid tied around my waist. Then I put my hair up in a high bun. Eva was wearing black sequence shorts and a silky tank top and heels, she was sitting on my bed eating a burrito, as soon as she got up she tripped over her heel, and spilled guacamole all over my outfit. "Oh my god, I am so sorry." She said with pity. "It's okay, I'll just change." I said as I walked back to my closet. Maya gave Eva the death glare but she didn't notice. Then I found the perfect outfit. It was a black romper from forever 21, it had thick straps, and it had see-through lace on the back and on both sides of the romper. I put on small gold earrings, and let my natural curls down. I put on the romper and topped it off with ankle boots, and an over the shoulder bag with floral prints on it.

Eva's POV:

I was sitting on Riley's bed, eating and then I saw what she was wearing and if I was going to get Lucas, I couldn't have her look better than me. So I got up and pretended to trip over my heels. Then I spilled the guacamole all over her outfit. I thought I had her. But then she changed and her outfit was way better than the one she had on before. I rolled my eyes and I put my act back on. "Riley, you look so pretty." I said. "Aw, thank you Eva!" she said. As soon as she turned around, I gave her the death glare.

Maya's POV:

There was something definitely going on with Eva and I think I knew exactly what she was up to. Riley only sees the good in people, and lucky for her I don't. It takes a bad one to know a bad one. I knew Eva was up to something. Then it hit me. Eva was after Lucas and she was trying to get rid of Riley. The way her face lit up when Riley said he was coming along to the concert, the way she talked to him. Then when she "spilled" the guacamole on Riley's outfit. Oh this girl was not going to get away with this.

Riley's POV:

Lucas had finally arrived. He looked great. He was wearing a white V-neck, with dark denim jeans and black leather jacket and black Nike shoes. "Hey," I said as I gave him a kiss. My dad cleared his throat and made his way over to us and stood between us. "How you doing?" he said. "Dad." I said as I gave him the look. "Riley." He said. But as soon as he could say anything else, my mom walked over and dragged him away from us. "Topanga!" he said. "Cory, she's going out with her boyfriend and friends. Be nice." She said. "Fine." He said. "Have fun kids and Mr. Friar?" he said. "Yes, sir?" Lucas said. "I'm watching you." Lucas took a step back.

We sang the night away at the concert, we had front row seats so it was definitely a good experience. Also, I was surrounded by my lovely boyfriend, my best friend and my new friend. This was going to be unforgettable night. After the concert ended, we dropped off Eva and Maya and Lucas dropped me off home last. He walked me to my door and gave me a kiss goodnight.

 **I'm just going to end the chapter here. I promise the next chapter will be so much better. You'll see more of Eva and her evil schemes. Lucas is oblivious about Eva's actions and he doesn't believe them when Riley and Maya tell him what she's trying to do. What do you think is going to happen with Riley and Lucas? Will they stay together and bring Eva down? Or will Eva win?**


	4. Chapter 4: The Innocent One

Chapter 4: The "Innocent" One

Riley's POV:

I was finally caught up with everything that Eva was doing. She had put me through two months of evil schemes. I knew exactly what she was trying to do. She was trying to get Lucas all to herself. But that was not going to happen, even after purposely putting her panties in my bed and making it look like her and Lucas slept together, I finally had to say something to her. But the only person who wasn't aware of what she was doing was Lucas. We were finally on good terms again after I accused him of cheating on me with Eva, but then I found out that they didn't sleep together because Farkle saw Eva plot her panties in my bed, to make it look like they did at my party.

 **Riley  
** Eva

" _Hey, girlfriend"_

" _ **Hey, you left something in my bed last night..girlfriend"**_

" _Oh my god, I am so sorry, I guess Lucas and I got caught up in the moment, I mean we were pretty drunk, I didn't mean for things to go that far, I really am sorry, Riley."_

" _ **In my room? In my bed? Look Lucas is my boyfriend, I know how he feels about me and I know he would never cheat on me and even if we weren't dating, I would still know that Lucas would never do you in my bed. I don't know what game it is, you're trying to play, or whatever scheme you're trying to pull but count me out. You almost got exactly what you wanted. You wanted Lucas all to yourself, but last time I checked, the only girl Lucas Friar has ever had his eyes on, was me."**_

I never thought that the new girl in town would soon be my new worse enemy. She was out to get me and I didn't even understand why. But I was still having trouble getting Lucas to believe me, when I tried to tell him what Eva was doing. "Riley, I love you, but I honestly think you're being just a little paranoid." He said. "I am not being paranoid, and I am not the only one that sees it." I said. "Lucas, she's after you." I said. He looked at me and smiled. "Riley, it's so cute when your jealous." He said. "I am not jealous, I'm telling you the truth. Why won't you believe me?! You need to trust me on this." I said as I grabbed his chin and made him look at me.

"Riley, I'm sorry. But over the past month, I've heard you talk about how Eva is after you, I've grown tired of it. It's getting too much for me." he said. "Are you breaking up with me?" I said. "I just think we should take a break, that's all." he said. "No, there's going to be no breaks, if we break up, then we break up." I said then we walked away from each other.

A couple months later.

Riley's POV:

Life was finally good again, I was dating a college guy, his name was Martin and Eva finally got what she wanted. She had Lucas wrapped around her little finger. But Lucas and I finally became friends again and we accepted the fact that it just wasn't meant to be with us. We were all waiting in line to get on the bus, we were about to head off to the ski lodge for our senior trip. "So is your new boy toy meeting us at the lodge?" Maya asked. "Yup, there is no way I am going to stand in the singles line, while Lucas and Eva rub their new relationship in my face." I said. "I still can't believe Hopalong is with her, like honestly she has some weird power over him. I still want to find out everything there is to know about this girl. So I am going to make it my mission to blow her little cover." Maya said. "This is why I love you." I said as I linked my arms with hers. We got onto the bus and Lucas and "Eva" were sitting in the middle being all lovey dovey, I looked back at Maya and she rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, Maya and I were forced to sit across from them. That was the longest three hours of my life. We finally reached the ski lodge and I just couldn't wait to see Martin.

After roll call, we all went to our hotel rooms and I saw Martin waiting for me by my door. He pulled me into a hug and spun me around. "For some reason, that did not make me want to vomit." Maya said with a smile. Apparently, Lucas and Eva were too good for lodge we were staying in, so they got a cabin of their own that Eva was able to "use" from these shapers she used to know. I didn't believe it for one second. Even though, I was with Martin, I still cared a lot for Lucas, but "Eva Mansfield" is not who she says she is, and we will blow her cover once and for all.

Lucas's POV:

"I didn't know that we were able to bring outsiders on our senior trip." I said as I watched Riley and her new college boyfriend get ready to ski. "Oh, well her dad is a part of the facility. So maybe he bent the rules just for her. He actually seems to love her new boyfriend," Eva said. Yeah he did seem to like Riley's new boyfriend, but he got super over protective with me, I just didn't understand why he never really liked me, when Riley and I dated. Even though, it was a very complicated situation. "Hey, you're with me now, don't worry about them. It's just you and me." she said as she gave me a kiss. A part of me finally felt something completely off about her. But I didn't want to say anything, because what if I was just being paranoid.

Eva's POV:

I finally got Lucas Friar all to myself, but I didn't destroy Riley, well at least not yet. I knew exactly what to do to completely sabotage her new relationship. I started to groan. "Are you okay?" Lucas asked as he walked over to me. "I don't feel good, do you think we can just stay inside today?" I asked in an innocent tone. "Yes, of course, I'll take care of you." he said as he put his arm around me. "But, Lucas there is something I need to tell you." I said. I knew this would break him. "I think I'm pregnant." I said. Lucas froze. His whole life just changed right in front of him.

 **Get ready for Chapter five! It's going to be really interesting! How do you think Lucas will react to Eva's pregnancy? How do you think Riley, Maya and Farkle will react to it? How will Eva sabotage Riley's new relationship? I know these two chapters will make you mad, but trust me, I know what I'm doing. Just keep reading until the very end ;) xx**


	5. Chapter 5: Everyhing Unfolded

Chapter 5: Everything Unfolded

Maya's POV:

"Riley, trust me on this. Lucas will come to his senses, we just have to find evidence that Eva is not who she says she is." I said as I grabbed my jacket. "Where you going?" she asked. "Farkle and I are going to Eva's house, if anyone asks, just say were skiing. We will crack this girl." I said. "But what if Lucas doesn't believe us? Were you not here for the past couple of days? Eva purposely bumped into me and spilled hot chocolate over herself, then Lucas and I got into a fight over it. Then she tripped me and made ride on the cable cars with Lucas while she sat with Martin. I really think she said something to him because he has been acting weird to me all day." She said. "Like I said, we're going to crack this girl.' I said as I walked out of the cabin.

 _*Cable Cars*_

 _Riley's POV"_

 _Martin and I were waiting to go on the cable cars. Then Lucas and Eva came up behind us. "Hey, you guys made it down faster but we all ended up in the same place." I said. "Riley, we've been down like four times." Lucas said. As I took a step forward, I found myself faced first on the ground. Eva purposely tripped me. "Riley! Are you okay?" Lucas asked as he helped me up. Eva and Martin were already on the cable car and that left me with Lucas. Lucas and I had been weird around each other after the whole hot chocolate incident. So maybe it was time to be almost on solid ground. Even if we were hanging from a cable eight million feet in the air. "Eva and Martin seem to be hitting it off." I said trying to make conversation. "Yeah, she can talk to anyone." Lucas said as he looked at her. "Yeah, she always has so much to talk about." I said sarcastically. "What is that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way. She's just interesting." I said. Lucas rolled his eyes. "Riley, do you have a problem with Eva?" he asked. Lucas and I dated before Eva, so of course he should've known that I had a problem with her._

" _Riley, we have been over this, when are you going to stop being paranoid?" Lucas said. "I am not being paranoid, I'm just trying to protect you." I said. "This is why we needed a break." He said. "Last time I checked, we broke up and I started dating someone else and you started dating Eva." I said. Lucas's face dropped. He knew I was right. "It's not that easy. I don't really know what's going on, or what your problem is with her. But I really like her, so can you just do me a favor and back off?" He said. "It looks pretty easy to me and gladly!" I said as I took off._

Maya's POV:

"She's a lying slut and that's where she lives." I said as Brandon and I pulled up in front of Eva's house. "I didn't know I was driving you to a cat fight, I would've charged more." Farkle said as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Very funny." I said sarcastically. We got out of the car and started walking to the door. "So why are we here?" he asked. "To get some more information about this Eva." I said as I rang the doorbell. A women with green eyes, short mahogany hair and a lot of Botox to her face answered the door. "Can I help you?' she asked. "I'm a friend of Eva Mansfield." I said. "I'm Eva's Mansfield." She said. Farkle and I looked at each other. She invited us in and we told her all about "Eva."

"That explains everything." She said as she pulled out credit card bills. "Thousands and thousands of dollars, the credit card company is still after me, they don't even believe I'm me!" she said as she handed us the papers. "Whoa, that is some criminal behavior." I asked. "My uncle is a cop, so I know," Farkle said. "Why isn't her name on any of these?" I asked. "Because she's a juvenile, her name has been redacted." Farkle and I were shocked. I couldn't wait to tell Riley. We thanked Eva and drove back to the ski lodge. "I can't believe it! For one her name isn't even Eva and she's a criminal!" I said. "We have to get to Lucas, but I doubt he would believe us, he doesn't even believe Riley, RILEY!" Farkle said as we continued to drive.

Riley's POV:

"This is my favorite part of skiing" I said as I snuggled up to Martin in the lounge. "Ugh. Riley and Martin already took the best seats in the lounge." Eva said as her and Lucas walked in. "There's plenty of room." Lucas said. "Not a good idea, plus I feel like she's staring at daggers at me," she said. Lucas looked over at me while I was messing with Martins hair. "Eva, I think you're being a little bit paranoid." Lucas said. "You're right, I'll go get us hot chocolates." She said as she walked away.

Maya's POV:

Farkle and I had one last stop to make and that was Eva's real home. "This girl's cover is about to be blown, she doesn't even live in our district. She is so out of here." I said as we got out of the car. We walked up to the door and knocked. An old women answered the door. "Yes?" she said. "Hi, I'm a friend of Ambers." I said. "I didn't even know she had friends." The women said. "I just love her." I said sarcastically. "Are you her mom?" I asked. "Her grandma, my daughter took off for Vegas years ago, come on in. She's probably in her room." she said as she held the door out for us. "Amber's downstairs?" I asked as we walked in. "She's probably studying, she's always studying." Her grandma said.

We walked downstairs, and it was just filthy, then we opened the door to Amber's room. I opened the door and turned the light on. We were shocked at what we saw. We saw photos of us on her wall, with our descriptions on it. Then she had a photo of Riley that she drew a big X over. There was fake ID's and credit cards everywhere, it looked like a horror film. "What the." Farkle said as we looked around. "This girl is psychotic." I said.

Riley's POV:

"Martin, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for things to end up like this," I said. "You know, I came here for you, I wanted to spend time with you. I didn't drive to two hours to see some psycho drama between you and your ex-boyfriend." He said as he packed up his stuff. "That is not what it is." I asked. "Then what is it? You know what just call me when you figure it out. In the meantime, I have some studying I have to catch up on since I've been blowing it off and I think you know why." he said as he walked out. It had been an hour since Martin and I fought. He was right. He came here to spend time with me and the only thing I've been doing is fighting with Lucas. I knew I had to make it up to him. So I called him and told him to go on a midnight stroll with me, we were going to meet each other by the bear.

Eva's POV:

After we drank the hot chocolate, I went inside the bathroom and saw Gloria in there. "Hey Glor, what's the matter?" I asked. She held up her pregnancy test, it was positive. I knew exactly what my next scheme was going to be. I took her pregnancy test from her, "Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me." I said as I walked out of the bathroom.

I walked back to the cabin and Lucas was in the shower. I made myself comfy on the bed, all of a sudden his phone rang, It was from Maya. Before I could answer, she already started talking. "Lucas, can you hear me? Eva is a compulsive liar, you have to get away from her!" she said. I quickly hung up and put Lucas's phone in the freezer to freeze it.

Riley's POV:

I was on my way to meet Martin, when Maya called me. "Hello?" I said. "Eva Mansfield is a compulsive, lying psycho path. You have to get to Lucas! Her name isn't even Eva! It's Amber Horton. I know Lucas doesn't believe you, but you need to try again. Also, before she came to John Quincy, she was home school and she's never in stepped foot out of New York. She was kicked out the school when she was nine, for stabbing someone with a fork. She's been homeschooled, by herself." She said. "Oh my god!" I said. "I tried to call Ranger Rick, but she answered. You need to find him now," she said as she hung up. I didn't know what to do at this point. Do I go and rescue Lucas? or Do I try to save my relationship with Martin. I figured I would stop by Lucas's on my way. So as soon as I got there I started to bang on his door. "Lucas! Lucas! Open up!" I yelled. Meanwhile, Martin was literally waiting for me outside in the light blizzard. No one answered the door. I ran to the lounge to use the phone, and Lucas still wasn't picking up. I decided to give up and I went to go meet Martin, but he had already left.

My whole world was crashing down on me. I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going. I didn't even know who to look for anymore, but then Maya came up to me. "Okay, so Lucas and Eva are staying in an isolated cabin, that Eva said she was able to use when really, they broke into it and Lucas has no idea. We have to go!" She said. "You know for someone who always teases him, you seem to care an awful lot." I said eyeing her suspiciously. "Riley, I am doing this for you, because I know that you still love Mr. HeeHaw. I'm helping you help him." She said. We went back to our cabin, I needed my best friend now especially since Martin left me. Eva has officially gotten what she wanted.

The next morning, I woke up feeling numb. Martin was gone, Lucas wasn't even speaking to me. The only friends I had on this trip was Maya and Farkle, but I would take them over anyone else any day, especially since things haven't been so great. All of a sudden, I felt someone jump on my bed. "Wake up honey, and get dressed. We have work to do." Maya said as she got off my bed. I quickly did as she said and we started walking towards Lucas's cabin. "Okay, so here's the deal. Lucas thinks that Eva knows the people that owns the cabin, when really they broke into the cabin while the owners are away. We need to save the kid. Farkle is going to meet us there right now." she said.

Lucas's POV:

My whole world was collapsing around me. How could Eva be pregnant? I used protection every single time. I am not ready to be a father. But I had to shake those thoughts out, it was snowing outside and it was perfect for snowboarding. "Alright, let's go, it's a powder day!" I said as I got out bed. "Oh, no I'm not really used to these conditions, ever since the white out in Vermont. I thought maybe we could stay inside and lay by the fire." Eva suggested. "Hmm. This place is pretty awesome." I said as I leaned in for a kiss. "Yeah, the shapers are pretty cool about letting me use their place, their hardly ever in the states." She said. "We should've just came here in the first place" I said with a grin. "Well, I thought we would stay with the group so that I can try and fit in, but I guess the more I try the more I get ragged on." She said. "Well, don't worry about them because it's just you and me now." I said.

It was time for Eva and I to have a talk about her pregnancy. "So have you taken a test yet? To see if you really are pregnant?" I asked. Eva's eyes widened. "Um, no I haven't. I will soon though." She said. All of a sudden the doorbell rang, it was Maya and Riley. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked. "Blowing that girl's cover. Eva's real name isn't even Eva. It's Amber Horton from San Pedro and she stabbed a guy with a pencil." Riley said as she quickly walked in. "Riles! Too soon." Maya said as she took her place next to Riley. "Okay enough! I know you guys have something against Eva, but you guys need to deal." I said. I was really angry at them right now. Are they ever going to stop? "Do you even know who she really is?" Riley asked. "Yes, I do she told me." I said. "And yet you're still with her?" Maya asked. "But she is my girlfriend, and it really is none of your business. Soon enough, Eva came to my side. "I'm pregnant." She said.


	6. Chapter 6: Single

Chapter 6: Single

Lucas's POV:

Maya and Riley's jaw dropped, as they stood there frozen in the doorway. I was having trouble believing the fact that she was pregnant. "Obviously, Lucas and I have more that we need to discuss, so do you mind leaving us alone?" Eva said. "Yeah, I do mind Amber." Maya said as she stepped out the doorway and closed the door. Eva look like guilty. "I call bull on this little pregnancy, pregnant with what? You've been lying about everything since you got to JQA." She said. I had about enough with this. Eva grabbed my arm. "Lucas, I can't handle this." She said. "Listen, you guys need to go." I said as I opened the door but then I got attacked by snow. "Oh yeah, you try calling us a cab in this storm." Maya said sarcastically.

After, I set the fire on the fire place, I joined Eva on the couch. While Riley and Maya sat down in front of us. "Lucas, there's obviously a lot more that I need to tell you, and I'm pretty sure their dying to tell you, but I would rather want you to hear it from me. I have been living in New York all my life with my grandma, because my parents abandoned me when I was seven. I just wanted to go to a good school, and belong somewhere with people like you guys because you guys seem like tightknit group." She said. "I'm sorry." I said. "You know you don't have to believe everything she says with a grand of salt." Riley said. "I just wanted to have a better life." Eva said. I looked at her with sympathy. "Lucas, can I show you pictures of Eva's bedroom." Maya asked sarcastically. "You must be so proud of yourself Maya, it wasn't enough that you attacked me, but you take advantage of my grandma? The only person out of my whole family that actually cares about me. So you snooped through my bedroom, good job." Eva said.

At this point, I really didn't know what to believe or who to believe, I just wanted this day to be over. "You're nuts." Maya said. "I've been attacked by girls like you my whole life, and the kid I attacked in the fourth grade, she was with two other girls, and they were holding me down in the bathroom, trying to dunk my head in a toilet, so yeah lucky for me there was a pencil on the floor." Eva said.

Riley's POV:

I looked over at Lucas and he looked hurt and confused. I wanted to ask him how he was feeling but what good was that going to do. "And if you want to know anything else, I'll tell you but there's one thing I haven't lied about and something that I will never lie about, is my feelings for you." she said. Lucas started to look uncomfortable. All of a sudden the door opened and a couple walked in. "Who are you?" the man asked. "Uh, isn't this the shapers house? Do you know Carol and Bill?" Eva asked. "We bought this place from them like five years ago," the man said. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." Eva said in an innocent tone. "I didn't know, they said I could use this place whenever I wanted. You had a key out right where they always left theirs." she said. "Would you please leave? Before I call the police." the man asked. Lucas and I looked at each other and then he got up and stood next to me.

The rest of that night was a blur to me. Somehow Eva talked the couple out of calling the police on us. Lucas's faith in Eva had seem unwavering. Thank god today was the last day of the trip. Even though the storm had passed, it didn't mean the air was clear. We all boarded the bus and drove back to school, I still didn't understand why Eva's unfolding didn't leave him running. But then again it was not my business anymore. But was Lucas really ready for this type of commitment? Either he still believed her or he was just trying to do the right thing. Which was completely Lucas. All of a sudden, my phone buzzed and it was Martin. He wanted to talk.

Lucas's POV:

The bus made a quick rest stop at the gas station and I still wasn't fully convinced that Eva was pregnant. "Hey, I was wondering if you could take another test, just in case." I said. She agreed. We went inside the store and waited for her results to come.

Eva's POV:

As I got into the bathroom, I quickly pulled out Gloria's test and acted like it was mine. I waited five minutes before I went there, finally the five minutes were up. Lucas, Riley, Farkle and Maya were all waiting for me to come out. I opened the door and put a concerned look on my face. I walked towards Lucas and held up the pregnancy test. Everyone looked shock. "Looks like we're doing this." Lucas said.

Gloria came up to me and pulled me to the side. "Are you trying to pretend my pregnancy test is yours? I don't like this." She said, "I'll make it worth your while." I said as I took a pair of silver snowflakes earrings out of my bag, they belonged to Lucas's mom but I knew she wouldn't notice them missing. "These were really expensive, keep them if you want, or if you need money for something." I said. She looked like she was in love with the earrings, then she took them.

Riley's POV:

"I am so sorry about everything that happened over the weekend, I got caught up in the whole Eva mess and I completely blew you off. She's really bad news. I didn't mean for things to get like this." I said as I apologized to Martin over the phone. "Look, I get it. You're in high school everything is spinning completely out of control and you're just trying to cope." He said. I felt relieved that he understood. "The truth is, is you still have a lot of growing up to do, and for now I think you should go and do that." He said. "What?! No, no, no Martin." I said. "Look, you're a really great girl. Maybe someday, but I just think our timing is wrong." Martin said. There it was. We were officially broken up.

A few weeks later:

Riley's POV:

We were all in class waiting to take our finals, I was trying so hard to concentrate. But the only thing that consumed my mind was Eva, Lucas and Martin. Before the test started, Gloria ran out of the classroom like she was about to vomit. Finally, the hour had gone by and I met up with Maya for lunch. "Oh don't look now, here comes Mr. and Mrs. Pregnant." Maya said sarcastically. "I don't know why Lucas won't just believe us when we tell him Eva is completely insane." I said, "I know, and did you know that he's proposing to her? Apparently, Eva is pressuring him into it because of her pregnancy. Well that's what Farkle told me." Maya said. All of a sudden Lucas came up to us, "Riley, we need to talk." He said. I got up and we went to an empty classroom. "Okay, who have you told?" he asked. "Excuse me?" I said. "There's rumors going around that someone is pregnant, who did you tell?" he asked again. "Lucas, you have known me for about four years now, you should know that I can keep a secret." I said. "You promise?" he said. "Remember how long I kept us a secret?" I said. Lucas frowned. "Well thank you." he said as he walked away.

The rest of the day had gone by so fast, I still didn't get a chance to talk to Lucas about him proposing to Eva. I had to stop him. Then I saw him doing homework in the classroom. "Lucas, I know it's none of my business but what the hell? You're proposing to her?!" I said. Lucas rolled his eyes. "Riley, we're having a baby." He said. "So?! Don't do this, Please don't ruin your life over this." I pleaded. "Ruin my life? Really?" he said. "Maybe I am overstepping my bounds but-." Lucas interrupted me. "Riley, you are definitely overstepping." He said. "Okay, fine I'm out." I said sadly. Lucas sighed. "Riley," he said. "No, you know what Lucas, I am out. I have been nothing but a good friend to you, even after everything we have been through, I even kept you a secret and for what?" I said as I stormed out of the classroom.

Lucas's POV:

What did I just do? I have officially lost Riley Matthews, I never thought that would happen. But there was nothing I could do about it. I had to do the right thing. Even if the right thing wasn't something I wanted to do. I walked out of the classroom and I saw Riley at her locker and Eva was walking up behind her. "Riley." She said. Riley turned around. "I heard about you and Martin and I'm really sorry, I mean I really am so, so, sorry for you, it must suck that you can't keep a man. Martin was amazing and you lost him and you and Lucas aren't even speaking and I know that you still would just pine for him. Don't worry about the final, I'm pretty sure you aced it, after all, you're the 139 best student here." she said as she walked off. Riley rolled her eyes. "That's actually number 17, you little wackjob." She said as she walked away. Then it all hit me. I finally knew what the right thing was.

Afterschool, Eva and I went to the jewelry store to go check out engagement rings. "Do you have anything cushion cut?" Eva asked the jeweler. "There's actually something I want to talk to you about. Sometimes I feel like you're not being completely honest with me." I said. "What do you mean?" she said as she tried on rings. "Like at the ski house, when those people didn't know who you were." I said. "Well, I didn't know the shapers sold their place." She said. "And the new people had their key in the same place, the shapers used to have theirs." she said. "Yeah I know, that probably makes sense. But you know at lunch when I heard about the rumors?" I asked her. "Yeah, what about them?" she asked, "Well I found out that the person who is pregnant is Gloria," I said. "Okay and Gloria's pregnant? What does that have to do with us?" she asked. "Nothing really accept the fact that Gloria was wearing my mom's earrings today," I said. Her eyes widened. "That's so weird. How did she get them?" she asked.

"Well she said it all started when she saw you in the bathroom at the ski lounge, you know when you told her you were going to keep her pregnancy a secret. She also told me she had no idea that those earrings were stolen." I said. "Lucas, you're freaking me out." She said. "Is she saying some crazy stuff?" I asked. "I would never do something like that, I'm a good person." She said. "Yeah I know, it's just that um I was walking out of class afterschool today and I overheard you talking to Riley and I just wanted to say that you're a horrible person, Amber." I said. "What?!" she said. "No one talks to Riley like that, and I know you lied about everything, you're not pregnant, no you're not anything!" I said. "You don't understand." She said as her eyes began to water. "Oh, actually I do. I'm going to make a deal with you. Get out of my school, get out of New York and I will tell everyone that you got into college early, or that you left me for some famous celebrity, actually you know what I'll let you make you make up whatever excuse you want, and if you ever come back here the deal is off, and I will tell everyone the truth, you have 24 hours to decide how you want this to go down." I said.

Eva was in tears, "But Lucas all I ever wanted was you, and maybe I got a little crazy." she said. "You tried to ruin my life!" I yelled. Eva started to cry but I could see right through her act. I pulled her into a hug and sighed. "You now have 23hrs, and 59 minutes." I said as I walked out of the store. Eva quickly dropped her act. I knew I had owed Riley a huge apology, so I stopped by the candy store and bought the biggest box of chocolate there was.

Riley's POV:

I was sitting in my room listening to music, then all of a sudden there was a knock on my window. Lucas climbed in. "What do you want, Lucas?" I said. He stood at the foot of my bed. "I know I am the last person you want to see, but I just thought you should be the first to know that I broke up with Eva." I said. I saw Riley's face lit up. "Yeah, she lied about everything, you were right about her, she's completely psychotic, oh and she's not even pregnant." He said, "What? How could- never mind, are you okay?" I asked. Lucas took a deep breath. "Honestly, I feel great, I am not going to be a dad anytime soon, my psychotic girlfriend is gone and I'm about to join you and eat some of the chocolate I got you." he said as he sat next to me on my bed. "Riley, I really am sorry that I didn't believe you, I ruined our relationship because of it. You were just trying to be a good friend and I wasn't being a good one at all. Looks like were both single again." he said as he chuckled. "I sure am!" I said as I took a piece of chocolate from the box. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to get back on that horse, how about you?" he asked. "Someday, but for now I just want to give it time." I said as I rested my head on his shoulder. We spent the rest of the night talking and eating chocolate.

 **OKAY. So wasn't Eva completely insane? The next chapter, you will see, nothing but Rucas. Riley and her friends go to New Year's Eve party and her and Lucas make a pact at that party. What do you think the pact is? Do you think they're going to get a midnight kiss? Stay tuned for the next chapter xx**


	7. Chapter 7: Letting Go

Chapter 7: Letting Go

Riley's POV:

The first half of senior year was almost over and New Year's was right around the corner. I was ready for a new start, especially after everything that happened this year. But I had a good feeling about this year. I watched my mom put up decorations around the bakery, while I waited for Lucas. We were finally back on good terms, but there was still a part of me that wanted him as more than just a friend. But maybe our friendship will lead to a relationship again. Finally, Lucas came. "Hey, you made it." I said with a smile. "Well, of course, you know I wouldn't want to miss out on a day that I get to spend with the famous Riley Matthews." He said with a smile. "So ready for the New Year?" I asked. "Yeah, I'm ready for a fresh start." He said as he looked at me for a moment. "How about you?" he finally asked as soon as he realized he was staring. "I am definitely ready for a New Year, I can't wait to start over." I said as I took a sip of my hot chocolate. "Now that I think about it, starting over does seem nice. I would love to start over and do things right this time." he said as he kept his eyes on me. I felt my cheeks turning red. He was giving me that look he used to give me when we dated. The way he was acting around me made me feel like there was still hope for us. But I knew that was impossible.

After we ate, we decided to go for a walk in Central Park. Lucas was walking so close to me. As we walked further into the park, we started to hear acoustic guitar sounds. It felt nice. This whole moment felt nice. But I knew I had to remind myself that Lucas Friar and I are just friends. I noticed that Lucas was quiet for a long time. Maybe he was thinking the same thing I was. "So, I never got to ask. What're you doing for New Year's?" he asked. "Oh, my whole family is coming together and were going to ring in the New Year together, and of course Maya will be with me." I said. He looked down. "Well, what if I want to be with you on New Year's?" he asked. I was screaming on the inside. "Well, do you?" I asked. He stopped walking. "As of right now, you are the only girl I want to be around. You have been nothing but a good friend to me and you're the only one that really has stayed by my side through everything, even if I wasn't being such a good friend. You're the only one that understands me." He said as he smiled at me.

"Well, we do understand each other. That's why we make a good team." I said. I hoped that didn't sound bad. I didn't want him to think I meant relationship wise. "We should make a pact." He said. "What kind of pact?" I asked. "Well, I thought that I could be your reverse wingman, and you be mine. If anyone tries to flirt with us, we stop it immediately. Like if a guy were to flirt with you, I could cock-block you so that by the end of the night, it could just be me and you." he said. "Lucas, I'm going to be with my family on New Year's. So the whole pact thing isn't going to work. I'm sorry." I said. Lucas frowned. "Would I be able to come over? Pact or no pact, it would be nice to be with you." he said. I was starting to think that there was something more to this friendship. "Come over at 9" I said.

Lucas's POV:

I probably made it so obvious that I wanted her back. But at least I was going to be with her on New Year's. Which was only two days away, but I had a plan and hopefully everything goes well. I drove into the school parking lot and I realized I was right behind Riley's car. It looked like I was stalking her. I parked my car next to hers and waited for her to get out her car. But I had to make it look natural. "Are you stalking me?" she joked as she walked towards me. "No, I just happened to be in right place at the right time." I said with a cheesy smile. Then she flashed that adorable smile of hers and I felt weak to my knees. "So did you study for the final?" she asked. I was really distracted about how beautiful she looked today that I just couldn't talk right. "I studied, and I studied hard." I said in a tough guy voice. Riley gave me a weird look and laughed. I just embarrassed myself as usual. "Did you study?" I asked trying to erase what just happened. "Yeah, I studied and I studied hard!" she mocked.

"Hey, losers!" Maya said as she walked up to us and then she eyed us suspiciously. "What's going on here?" she asked, "What do you mean?" Riley asked. "I mean, is it possible that you and Ranger Rick here are back together?" she teased. "No, Maya, were not. Let's go to class." Riley said as she quickly grabbed Maya and they walked away. I stood there for a moment. "Lucas!" Farkle yelled. I turned around to find him walking towards me. "What has been going on with you lately? Are you still mad about Eva?" he asked. I gave him a look. "That was like a couple weeks ago dude, I have moved on from that. But there's just one thing or one person I haven't been able to move on from." I said. "Riley." Farkle said. "How'd you know?" I asked. "I'm your best friend, and it's so obvious that you haven't moved on from her. You've been in love with her since the 7th grade. You were still in love with her when you were with Eva. It is pretty obvious. You're always drooling whenever you're around her." He said.

"It's not that easy, I mean me and Riley barely got back to being good friends again. I don't want to mess it up. Plus I've broken her heart so many times, maybe it's time that I let her go." I said. "You love her that much to let her go?" Farkle asked. I thought about it for a moment there. "Yeah, I do. I had my chance." I said as I looked at him with a frown. "Did she say that?" he asked, "No, but she-". He interrupted me. "Then tell her, before she winds up with someone else again." Farkle said.

Riley's POV:

"Alright, what's been going on with you and Lucas?" Maya asked, "I don't know what you're talking about." I said. "Oh, honey you know exactly what I'm talking about." Maya said. I finally gave up. "Lucas and I are just friends there's nothing more to it!" I said as I closed my locker. "Yeah except the fact that you guys are still into each other." Maya said. "Maya, I've broken his heart so many times, it's time to let him go. I had my chance with him." I said. "So you love him enough to let him go?" she said. "Yeah, I do." I said.

I was so glad that it was a half day, I finished my final early and I was walking from the school gym, when I saw the baseball players at practice. Then I saw Lucas, he was standing on first base, I didn't feel like going home, so I decided to go watch him at practice. I mean it wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't mean anything. Just a friend watching a friend practice. I stayed until practice was over and I wanted to see if Lucas wanted to hang out afterwards, but then I noticed that he didn't come out of the locker room alone. There was a girl with him, she had green eyes, long brown curly hair and she was really fit. I don't think I've seen her around before. But of course, I always end up being too late. Like always. I quickly left before he got a chance to see me.

I was walking through the parking lot and I couldn't find my car anywhere. Just when things couldn't get any worse for me, I saw Lucas walking with that girl, I couldn't stop looking at them. All of a sudden, I hit something, it was my car. I was really hoping that Lucas didn't see that, but unfortunately, he did and he ran over to me. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked. I looked up at him, I looked into his beautiful green eyes and I found myself lost for a moment. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me." I said as I quickly snapped out of it and got up. "I'll always worry about you Riles." He said. We looked at each other for a moment. "I have to go, see you on next week. Remember nine o' clock." I said as I stumbled to my car. I sat in my car for a good five minutes before I decided to start the engine and drive out of the parking lot.

It was finally winter break. Time to relax and forget about some things for a while. I didn't know what I wanted to do, then all of a sudden Maya climbed through my window. "Honey!" she said. "Peaches!" I said back, she ran over and jumped onto my bed. "How ya doing?" she said with a smile. "Pretty good. It's finally winter break. I said. "Yes, it is. Want to go ice skating?" she asked. "Can we build a snowman too?" I asked. "Oh, so you want to build a snowman?" she asked. "And ride our bikes around the halls." I sang. All of a sudden we started singing frozen songs all around my room.

It was cold outside so I slipped on a white knit sweater, threw on some leggings, and put on long brown boots that went up to my knees. Then I put a black beanie on. Maya was wearing a white long sleeve, with a red trench coat, black pants, black boots and a black beanie. We were ready to go. We decided to walk there since the ice rink wasn't that far from my house. Once we got there, we put on our skates and started to skate around. "Ladies." We heard someone say. We already knew who it was. "Farkle." We said in unison. "Did you guys just get here?" he asked as he skated to our side. "Yes, how long have you been here?" I asked. "For about thirty minutes now, I came with Lucas but I sort of lost him." He said. "Well he's not that short, so it should be easy to find him." Maya joked.

All of a sudden I saw him, he was wearing a blue plaid shirt, with a black jacket, a black beanie, and denim jeans. "Wow, I did not get the black beanie memo." Farkle teased as Lucas skated to us. "Hey, everybody." He said. "Hey, I like your beanie." I teased. He smiled. "Thank you, I like yours too." He said. It was time for the couple skate. Maya and I skated together, while Lucas and Farkle went to go sit down.

Lucas's POV:

"Just go!" Farkle demanded. "But we're not a couple anymore, wouldn't that be strange?" I asked. "Lucas, she fell onto your lap on the subway, you held her in your lap until she got to her stop. I'm pretty sure there is no filter with this." Farkle said. He had a point. But I couldn't get myself to ask Riley to skate with me. Especially, since she was already skating with Maya. Then they started playing the song we danced to at the 7th grade dance. I don't know what was happening, but I soon found myself skating towards them. "May I cut in?" I asked. They turned around. "Why not." Maya said as she skated away. Riley watched her as she skated away. "Riley?" I said as I held out my arm. She didn't say anything, she just linked her arm with mine and we started to skate together. "Remember this song?" I asked. "Yeah, this is the song we danced to at the 7th grade dance. I wouldn't forget it." she said. I didn't want this moment to end. "What are your plans for break?" she asked. "I'm not sure, what about you?" I asked.

"I'm not planning anything, I'm just going to go with the flow. Surprisingly." She said. There was that adorable smile again. "Do you want to grab a bite to eat after this?" I asked. "Well, Maya promised me we were going to build a snowman, so maybe after?" she said. "I'll build a snowman with you." I said. "I bet I can build a better one than you." she teased. "We'll see about that." I teased back.

Riley's POV:

The thing I loved most about New York was the snow, when I was little I used to build snow mans and make snow angels all the time. I was happy I get to relive my childhood for the night. Maya and I built our snow man's side by side. They looked great but then I had another idea in mine. I made a snowball and waited for the right time to throw it. "Hey, Lucas!" I yelled. "Hey!" he said. "Do you want to know one of the things I love the most about the snow?" I asked innocently. "What's that?" he asked. I started to throw snowballs at him. Then he retaliated. We all found ourselves in a snowball fight, then it turned into girls vs. boys. This was quite possibly the best way to start my winter break.


	8. Chapter 8: New Year

Chapter 8: New Year

Riley's POV:

It was finally New Year's Eve and I was helping my parents set up around the house. "Okay, hopefully your mom goes easy on me this year." My mom said to my dad. "Of course she will," my dad said as he comforted my mom. "You promise?" she asked. Cory made a face. "Well, let's just hope and pray she goes easy on you, I mean she went easy on you last year." he said. "That was the only year." My mom said. We finished putting up the decorations and my mom got started on the cooking. Suddenly the door buzzed. "It's Shawn, Katy and Maya!" they said. "Shawnee!" my dad yelled as he ran to the door and opened it. They gave each other a big hug. "All the time." Maya groaned as she walked in.

"Maya," I said as I gave her a hug. "You know I'm not big on affection, but since it's New Year's." she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "So, your whole family is coming?" she asked as we walked into my room. "Yup." I said as I sat down at my desk. "Even your uncle Boing?" Maya teased. "Oh, Maya are you ever going to let him go?" I asked. All of a sudden my door flew open, "Riley!" My Uncle Eric yelled as he ran over and pulled me into a hug. Without letting me go, he saw Maya. "Moesha, get in here!" he said as he pulled her in. "It's Maya," she said as we all pulled apart. "Okay, Malala. So, Riley are you ready for college?" he asked. I shook my head. "Not so much, I'm still waiting on Columbia." I said. "Eric!" my dad yelled from downstairs. "We will finish this conversation later!" he said as he ran out of my room.

"Wow, Riley you look amazing." Maya said. I gave her a quick spin. "Thank you, this dress screams new to me. It's going to be a new year and I want to ring in the new year looking amazing." I said. I was wearing a short black long sleeve dress, with glitter all over it. Then I topped it off with silver dangling earrings, and for my makeup, I gave myself a smoking eye and put on red lipstick. Maya was wearing a short red turtle neck dress, with black belt around her waist. We walked downstairs and Farkle and Lucas had arrived.

Lucas's POV:

We were standing outside of the door, I was trying to stall but couldn't. "Are you okay man?" Farkle asked. I'll admit I was a little nervous to see how Riley looked, she always looked amazing and always manages to take my breath away every time. "Yeah, it's just been awhile since I've been here. I'm just a little afraid of what Mr. Matthews might do, considering everything that had happen." I said. "Don't be nervous and if anything happens, I'm here for you." Farkle said as he gave me a pat on the back. Here goes nothing, I pressed the button and Topanga buzzed us in. "Lucas, Farkle so glad you guys can join us, come on in." she said.

"What if I have nothing to say?" I asked Farkle. "Lucas, you'll be fine. You and Riley are just friends, remember?" he said. "Yeah, just friends." I said as I lowered my voice. All of a sudden, I felt my heart skip a beat, my knees began to weaken, and I started to feel an indescribable feeling all over my body. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I was lost for words. "Lucas?" Farkle said. Then he turned around and saw Riley and Maya coming downstairs. "Hey, guys!" Riley said as she walked over to us. I stood there speechless. "Wow, you look amazing." Farkle said. Riley didn't look just amazing, she looked so absolutely breathtaking, absolutely stunning. I felt like an idiot for letting someone like her go. "Yeah, you do." I managed to get out as I kept my eyes on Riley. Farkle walked over to Maya, who was talking to Eric, so that Lucas could be alone with Riley. "I'm glad you made it." she said. "Me too." I said. I still couldn't get myself to talk. Then I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. "How ya doing?" Mr. Matthews said. "Really, dad?" Riley said as she gave him a look. "Riley, just-okay," he said. "Mr. Friar, over the years, I have watched this thing between you and my daughter, and I want you to know that I am still watching you." he said. "I understand, sir." I said as he walked away.

The party was going great, I stayed by Riley's side the whole time, but I really wanted to be alone with her. "Lucas, come with me I want to show you something." Riley said as she gestured me upstairs. We walked into her bedroom, then she walked over to the bay window and climbed through it. "Are you coming?" she asked. I climbed through the window, and followed every step she took. Pretty soon we found ourselves on top of the roof, "The view is amazing up here." she said. "Yeah it is," I said but I was talking about her. We stared at the view for a moment. Then I looked at her again. Her face was glowing, she had a little smile on her face and her eyes were shimmering.

I looked at my watch and it was 11:45pm. "Shouldn't we head down?" I asked. She looked at me and smiled. "No, I want to ring in the New Year right here, I've always wanted to come up here on New Year's, you get a new view of it all." She said. "What do you mean?" I asked as I took a step closer to her. "See all those people down there, I've always wanted to come up here and see all the madness, besides being in the madness again, I was always with my family and don't get me wrong I loved it, but I've always wanted to come up here on New Year's, where there's no pushing, shoving, no madness, I have all this room to be free, seeing everyone cheer, and see all the confetti falling, the couples. I wanted to have a different view on New Year's this year, I know it doesn't really make sense but I wanted to see the ball drop from a different angle. This angle." She said as she took a step closer to me. We locked eyes for a moment.

"Riley," I said. "You know how the other day we were talking about a fresh new start this year and starting over?" I asked her. "Yeah, why?" she asked. I looked at my watch it was now 11:50pm. "Being here with you right now, is one of those moments I will remember forever. I know we just got back to being good friends, But It's going to be a New Year and I'm ready to start over, with you." I said. "With me?" she said as she looked deeper into my eyes. I took a step closer to her and we were now an inch apart from each other. "Yes, with you. Riley, I thought that I could let you go, but I can't and I don't want to. I've made so many mistakes and one of those mistakes was losing you. I'm still in love with you and I still want to be with you." I said. She looked down and said "A lot has happened between us and finally, after all of it, were good friends again." I gently lifted her chin up. "Everything is going to change after we graduate, but so what? Life is full of uncertainties. But if you have one thing, that you know is true, you hold onto it. I know were only seniors right now, but the one thing that I am sure of, is that you are the love of my life, Riley Matthews. We can get through anything together because like you said, we make a good team. So will you please give us another chance?" I said.

 _ **To be continued….**_

 _ **Chapter 9 is coming soon xx**_


	9. Chapter 9: Answers

Chapter 9: Answers

Riley's POV:

"I know were only seniors right now, but the one thing that I am sure of, is that you are the love of my life, Riley Matthews. We can get through anything together because like you said, we make a good team. So will you please give us another chance?" Lucas said. We were standing an inch away from each other, then he took my left hand and placed it onto his heart. Our foreheads started to touch, along with our noses. But the only things that didn't touch were our lips. "Lucas, we can't do this." I said as I took a step back. "What do you mean?" he asked. "This. We can't do this. I'm sorry if I led you on by bringing you up here. But we just can't do this again. Especially since we just got out of a relationship. It's too soon," I said. "Then we can wait. Until you feel the time is right, I'll wait for you, Riley Matthews because I know what we have is worth it. You're worth it to me. I know we can do this. I have enough love for the both of us." He said as he took a step closer to me. "Riley, I know I made the mistake of leaving when the whole incident happened, but I promise you, I am not going to leave your side again." he said.

I looked at him for a moment then shook my head, "Lucas, not only did you leave, but you threw away the trust we had. Trust is a big thing to me and our trust broke when you left." I said. Lucas stood in silence. "The trust we have, is going to take a while to repair. But I promise you, things are going to be better this time." he said. All of a sudden we heard everyone counting down. "3…2...1... Happy New Year!" we heard everyone cheering, music playing, and confetti falling. But the only noise we didn't hear, was us, "Happy New Year." Lucas said quietly. Lucas and I walked back down in silence. We joined everyone downstairs and gave hugs. Then Lucas left after that. "Did you get your New Year's kiss from cowboy?" Maya teased as she walked over to me. "Riles? Are you okay?" she asked. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? It is finally a new year and it's time for changes!" I said trying to cover up. But Maya knew me too well to tell that I was not fine. "Bay window." She said as she pulled me upstairs.

"Alright, what's going on?" she asked as we sat down. "Nothing." I said. "Riley, Lucas walked out of here looking completely shattered, what happened?" she asked, "I took Lucas up to the roof, I don't know why but I just wanted to. Then he started to tell me about how he wanted to start over this year, but with me. Then he sort of told me that I was the love of his life." I said. Maya looked confused. "And?" she asked, "I told him we couldn't do it." I said feeling ashamed. "Why? You're still in love with him! Why are you completely throwing away everything you guys built?" she asked. "Because he threw away our trust when he left me for Eva." I said. Maya sighed. "Riley, Lucas is insane about you. I would use the word crazy but crazy wouldn't define how he feels about you. Lucas got all of the courage he had to finally telling you how he truly felt about you, and you turned him down. Now how do you think he's feeling right now?" she said. I looked at her in amusement. "Why are you taking his side?" I asked. "I'm not, I'm just trying to get you to see it from his point of view. Riley, you need to learn how to forgive. You need to learn how to forgive Lucas. Otherwise, you guys will be hung up on each other for the rest of your life." she said.

Lucas had been avoiding me for a week, even in class. We had to do an assignment together and he barely made eye contact with me. I mean I was still in love with him, it was just the fear of getting hurt again, and the fear of hurting him again. I was walking to my locker and saw the whole baseball team in one corner, they were all preparing for their game. I opened my locker and starting putting books in and taking books out, then Maya came up to me. "He's been looking at you ever since you walked up to your locker." Maya said. "Then let him look." I said. "Riley, you guys need to talk." She said. "We already did, we tried being friends and look how that turned out." I said as I closed my locker and turned to look at her. We passed the baseball team and I tried my best to not look at him. It was hard. But I just couldn't look at him without feeling so guilty. I felt his eyes on me as we walked by.

Lucas's POV:

It's been so hard to not talk to Riley since New Year's. But I knew it was best if I avoided her. I barely made eye contact with her when we had to do that history assignment together. I couldn't stand to look her in her eyes without knowing that I will never get her back. I just had to remind myself that it wasn't meant to be. Then when I was hanging out with the team, I saw Riley walking to her locker and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She looked so beautiful. I was waiting for her to glance at me so that I can give her some sort of sign that I am not angry with her. But she never did.

We were all warming up for the game and Farkle and I were throwing the baseball back and forth to each other. I never told him about what happened with me and Riley. I just couldn't get my mind off of it. I couldn't even catch or hit the baseball. I was losing my mind. "Lucas, are you alright?" Farkle asked as he walked up to me. "I'm fine." I said. "No, you're not. You've been acting distant since New Year's. What's going on?" he asked. "On New Year's, Riley took me up to the roof and we had a special moment together, and then I told her how I felt about her and I told her everything. I told her I wanted to start over with her and do things the right way. I told her she was the love of my life. But then she told me that we couldn't do it. We couldn't get back together because it was too soon. I told her I would wait for her but then she said something that really got me. She told me our trust broke when I left her for Eva. That was the stupidest thing I have ever done. She doesn't want to give us another chance." I said as tears started roll down my eyes. Farkle was silent, but only because he knew I just wanted him to listen.

Riley's POV:

I was sitting at my bay window thinking about how everything has been since the New Year started. I didn't get the fresh start I wanted. I shattered Lucas's heart, again. Why was I so afraid of getting hurt again? I mean it's okay to be afraid and maybe Lucas was right, maybe things would be better this time. Then everything hit me, I quickly grabbed my car keys and drove off to the baseball game. It was so hard to find parking, but I finally did and walked to the game. Our team was playing outfield right now and I went sat in the bleachers by myself. Lucas was doing really bad out there, and it was all my fault. The first half of the game was done, and the team went and sat in the dugout. I had to make my move, I couldn't stay still anymore.

I walked through the dugout and made my way through. "Young lady, you are not supposed to be back here," the coach said. "I don't care. I have something I need to say and I need to say it right now! So may you please move out of my way." I said as the coach obeyed. "Lucas!" I yelled. He got up. All the baseball players started teasing him by whistling, and hollering etc. "Riley, what're you doing in here? You're not supposed to be here." he said. "I need to talk to you." I said. "Well, whatever it is, it can wait." He snapped back. "No it can't, Lucas, I'm sorry for what happened on New Year's Eve, but I realized that the only reason why I said all of that is because I'm afraid of getting hurt again, but that's a risk I'm willing to take again because I'm still in love with you, Lucas Friar. I don't want to and I don't plan on being with anyone else because you're the only one I want, even when I was with someone else, it was still you. I want to continue to see the world with you, and hopefully grow old with you because you're worth it, we are worth it. Do we still have a chance?" I said.

I saw Farkle sniffling from the corner of my eye, but the only eyes I was looking at was Lucas's. He took a step towards me. He ran his hands through my hair, then rested them on my cheeks, then he grinned. "We're not going to live in a nursery home, right?" he teased. I smiled. "No," I said. Then he pulled me into a kiss and we heard Farkle crying, and the baseball team cheering. Our kiss deepened then he hugged me and picked me up. He couldn't spin me around because there was no room for that. Once he put me down, he gave me another kiss. It was time to get back to the game, "Go kill 'em out there" I said as I gave him another kiss and left. I saw Farkle jump on him and started cheering, along with the rest of his team.

I went back and sat in the bleachers and Lucas was playing much better this time. Although, he couldn't stop looking over at me. I didn't blame him. We won the game and the whole baseball team was going to go celebrate at the diner. I was walking out of the bleachers when all of a sudden, someone picked me up, "You're not getting away that easy." Lucas said as he put me down and kissed me. "I missed doing that." He said. "Aren't you supposed to go celebrate with your team?" I asked. "Yes, and I'm taking you with me!" He said as he threw me over his shoulders. "But I drove here!' I yelled as he carried me towards the parking lot. "We can park it at your house." He said as he put me down and kissed me. "I don't want to leave your side, I just got you back." He said as he kept his arms around my waist. We were standing by my car now. "It will only be a five minute drive, I'll park my car and then drive with you to the diner." I said. "That's too long." He said as he gave me a kiss on the forehead. He really did miss kissing me. "We can race there." I said with a smile. "You're on." He teased. We both jumped into our cars, and raced out of the parking lot.

 **Sorry for the long wait, there will be more chapters coming because I can't finish off senior year without prom and graduation right?** **xx**


	10. Chapter 10: Acceptance Letters

Chapter 10: Acceptance Letters and Decisions

 **Author's Note: In this chapter, I'm writing about how Riley and her friends feel about senior year coming to an end, and how nerve wrecking it was to wait for acceptance letters to come. It's pretty much based off some of the emotions and feelings7 I had when I was a senior in high school. (Class of 2014!) and I'm going to base the rest of their senior year from some of my experience. Senior year is a very bittersweet year.**

Riley's POV:

Senior year has been flying by so fast, I wish it would all just slow down. This was the last time we were ever going to be in high school. But at the same time, I couldn't wait to graduate and start my college years, one of the things I was afraid of was the acceptance letters. My future lies in the hand of a piece of paper. Almost everyone I knew had already gotten their acceptance letters, Farkle got accepted into Harvard and Maya had gotten an art scholarship in Italy. Lucas and I were the only two that didn't get our acceptance letters yet, that was another thing that worried me. I love Lucas so much but the only thing that worried me was the distance. I know I had nothing to worry about, but we would be a thousand miles away from each other. Lucas's first pick was Berkley and his second choice, was the University of South Carolina. It would be nice if he got accepted at USC, that way we would be closer to each other but I knew that as long as he was happy, I would be fine.

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on my door. "Come in, Lucas." I assumed. He popped in looking confused. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked. "Are you kidding me? Maya and my family don't knock, their pigs." I joked. He came over and sat next to me. "So. I have some news." He said. I had to prepare myself for what was coming. "I got accepted into Berkeley, USC, and the University of Phoenix." He said. "Wow, that's amazing, but which school are you going to choose?" I asked. "Well, that's why I came over here, which school should I choose Riley?" he asked me. "Lucas, I can't make that decision for you." I said as I took his hand into mine. "But I want you to be a part of this decision." he said. "What I want, is for you to be happy, and wherever you go, no matter how far you are, nothing will change between us. I'm in love with you and that will never change. It's going to be worth it in the end and whatever you decide, I'll be here for you and I'll support you through anything. If you choose Berkeley, then I will face my fears and get on a plane and fly four hours just to see you." I said as I looked into his eyes. He smiled and leaned in and gave me a deep kiss. "What was that for?" I asked. Lucas sighed. "I'm just really lucky to have you." he said as he gave me a warm smile.

We locked eyes for a moment, "So have you heard anything yet?" he asked. "If I did, you would've known by now." I teased. "I'm just worried that a small envelope is going to come in the mail, besides a big one." I said. "Don't put that in your mind, you're the smartest person I know. Columbia would be making a big mistake if they didn't accept you. But did you apply anywhere else?" he asked. I nodded. "I applied at Stanford and Oxford." I said. "And those are all great schools, any one of them would be lucky enough to have you there." he said.

After Lucas left, I sat in my room thinking about how different things were going to be after high school. I won't being seeing Maya, Farkle and Lucas every day. I won't be having my dad as a teacher anymore, I would be the only one staying in New York. Everything was going to change, whether I wanted to admit it or not. I don't know if I'm ready to say goodbye. But we still had prom, senior sunset and graduation left.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize Maya was sitting right next to me, "Hi, sweetie." She said. "Hey." I said as I kept my eyes on the floor. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Nothing, I'm just a little bummed I haven't heard from Columbia yet, or any school that I've applied to. Everyone else that I know of has gotten theirs already. Lucas got accepted into all three of the schools that he applied to, he came over and he wanted me to help him make his decision, I told him I couldn't make his decision for him. I'm a little nervous for which school he's going to choose, but I know that whichever one he chooses, we'll manage to make it work." I said. "You guys will and don't worry about the future just yet, you're still in the present. Let's live in the moment for now because spring break is coming up, as well as prom, and senior sunset. We have time to make the best of our year until graduation. So don't think about it until the time comes." She said. I felt much better after we had that talk, we decided to go down to the bakery to go get something to eat.

Once we got there, we saw Lucas and Farkle but they looked like they didn't want to be bothered so we just went and sat in a booth. "So, what should we do for spring break?" Maya asked. "We should take a road trip this year, but I don't know where." I said. "Why don't we road trip to Vermont? My dad has a cabin up there and I can ask if we could spend our spring break there. There's a lake nearby to, just in case you and Ranger Rick want to be alone." She teased. "Well, I wanted it to be just me and you. When were together, were either with Farkle or Lucas. I mean I love them but sometimes I just want a day where it can be just you and me. What do you say?" I asked. "I say let's do this!" she said as we gave ourselves a toast.

Lucas's POV:

Farkle and I were at Topanga's working on our homework, but the only thing I could think of was prom. I didn't know how I wanted to ask Riley. "I have no idea what I'm going to do." I said. "Relax, we have spring break to plan it. Are you going to be with Riley?" Farkle asked. "I hope so." I said. We kept going over different ideas, but I couldn't choose one that was perfect enough for Riley. This was going to be our last prom, I wanted to go all out. "Is that Maya and Riley sitting over there?" Farkle asked, I looked straight ahead and Maya and Riley were sitting in one of the booths, laughing at something. "Yeah, I didn't know they were here, you don't think they heard us, did you?" I asked. "Probably not, I don't even think their paying attention. Do you want to go give your girlfriend a little wittle kiss?" Farkle teased. "Not yet, there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about." I said as I kept my eyes on Riley. "Okay, what is it? And stop looking at her, you look creepy," Farkle said. "I got accepted into all of the colleges that I applied to, but I don't know which one to choose," I said. "Did you tell Riley?" he asked. "She was the first person I told, and I knew what she was going to say, she told me that she wants me to be happy and that she will support my decision," I said.

I looked over at Riley again and she was stuffing her face in chocolate cake, a smile spread across my face. "I don't want to be so far away from her, but Berkeley was my first pick and it was the school I've been wanting to go to for a while now," I said as I looked back at Farkle. "The best thing you could do, when it comes to make a decision like this, just take a walk, clear your mind, and when it comes time to make a decision, follow your heart. Because your heart always leads to the right place." He said. Farkle was right, and that's exactly what I was going to do.

Riley's POV:

I had chocolate all over my face, but it was worth it because, well it's chocolate. "That was delicious." I said as I took a sip of milk. Maya was looking at me like I was the strangest girl in the world. "It was also very attractive." Lucas said as he came and sat next to me. "Hi" I said with my chocolate smile. Lucas took a napkin and started wiping my face. "Thank you," I said as he continued to wipe the chocolate off my face. "Does this seem familiar to you?" he asked. I smiled. "You know, they call me princess dancing sunshine." I said. "Of course they do," he said as he played along. "Would you call me princess dancing sunshine?" I asked. "Would you call me mad dog?" he asked. "No, I would not." I said. "Well there you go," he said. After we cleaned up, Maya and I said goodbye to the guys and went back to my house.

The days were just flying by, and we were all in the gym at the senior assembly. The senior assembly was for senior announcements and we also had to pick up our cap and gown. It felt so surreal. I was feeling so many emotions, I wanted to cry but at the same time I was excited. We were all about to see a different view of the world. But the only thing that kept bugging me was the acceptance letters. Everyone else already had their future laid out right in front of them, everyone knew where they were going, and what they were doing. But where is my future?

After the assembly, I was driving around, still feeling pretty bummed about not receiving any letters yet. I was feeling like maybe I wasn't meant to have a good future. I went home and quickly ran to my room to find an envelope on my bed. It was a big envelope on my bed, it was from Stanford and Oxford. I had got accepted into both schools. I was really excited but then I realized, I had to put myself in Lucas's shoes, because now I'm the one that has to decide where I want my future to go. Do I want to start off my future in Oxford or do I want to start a future in Stanford? But knowing the rivalry between Stanford and Berkeley it's going to be pretty interesting.

I had to tell everyone the news, so I quickly ran downstairs and yelled "I GOT ACCEPTED INTO STANFORD AND OXFORD!" My parents and Auggie ran over and congratulated me. "That's great, honey." My mom said as she gave a hug. "But there's still no response from Columbia," I said as my voice fell. "Honey, you will hear from them soon. Just celebrate the acceptances you got for right now, don't stress over what hasn't happened yet." my mom said as she kept her arm around me. I knew she was right. So I went and drove over to Maya's.

"You got in?!" she said as I told her the news. "I'm so happy for you!" she said. "Thank you, I mean I know the letters weren't from Columbia, but at least I still got accepted into two of the most amazing schools ever. I just don't know which one to choose, I don't think I want to make any decision before Columbia calls-" before I could finish my sentence, my phone buzzed. I didn't recognize the number.

 _ **Hello?**_

 _Hi, is this Riley Matthews?_

 _ **Yes, this is she.**_

 _Hi, I'm Michelle and I'm calling from the Columbia Freshmen Special Honors program, we know you haven't heard from us yet, but that is because we wanted to call you personally and tell you that you got accepted into Columbia and you and 29 other students are invited for an early orientation._

 _ **Oh my, I don't know what to say, what does that mean?**_

 _It means, that you will be starting Columbia a little early, than you expected. We can give you time to think about it, but orientation starts in three weeks. We hope to see you there._

 _ **Yeah, this is something I would like to think about it but thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me.**_

After I got off the phone with them, Maya was sitting anxiously on the bed waiting for me to spill. After a minute of exchanging glances, she finally broke, "Well?!" she yelled. "I GOT INTO COLUMBIA!" I yelled. We both screamed and did a happy dance together. "But, I have some bad news." I said as I sat her back down on the bed. "They want me to go in for an early orientation, meaning I might not be able to go to prom, or spend the rest of my senior year with you guys, I mean I can walk in the ceremony, but it wouldn't be the same. I don't want to let you down, or Farkle and Lucas. I don't even know how Lucas is going to take it. I mean he has a decision to make as well, and I don't want to add more pressure to it, because I don't even know what I want to do. I have three weeks to decide." I said. "As much as it pains me to know that you might not be with us the rest of senior year, I really want you to follow your heart on this one. Don't put us before you, do what you need to do for you, Riley, this is your future. Don't let anything stand in your way." She said. I put my head on her shoulder and we sat there in silence.

 **Sorry for taking so long with the updates, I've been having major writers block. It wasn't really easy for me to write this chapter, because I wanted to express it in a different way, but I struggled with it. Hopefully you guys like it. Riley and Lucas now have big decisions to make, what do you think they'll decide? Is there going to even be a future for them? Where is their future? Who is their future with? stay tuned for chapter 11 xx**


	11. Chapter 11: The Decision

Chapter 11: The Decision

Lucas's POV:

It had been a week since I had gotten all of my acceptance letters, and I still did not know what I wanted to do. So I started thinking about how it would be if I went to Berkeley, I would be at my dream school, but I would be 2,413 miles away from her, and she'll be at Columbia with all of the guys surrounding her, then she'll meet someone better looking than me, then she'll fall for him, dump me, and then ride off into the sunset with him. Okay, no I had to get those thoughts out of my head. I decided to listen to some music to try and get my mind off of it. "Say Geronimo! Say Geronimo!" I sang all around my room and then I got up and started to dance a little. "Say Geronimo! Say Geron- RILEY! H-how long have you been standing there?" I said as I saw her standing by the door with her hand covering her mouth, she was trying really hard not to laugh at me. "Oh, long enough." She said as she walked into my room. "So what're you doing here?" I said as I went and sat down on my bed. Her facial expression began to turn serious. "I need to talk to you." she said. I started to think about everything I had done wrong within the past month since we had gotten back together. Nothing seemed to come to my mind.

Riley took a deep breath, "Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I got accepted into Stanford, Oxford and Columbia," she said. "Babe, that's amazing." I said as I gave her a kiss on the forehead. "But the bad news is that Columbia has invited me for early freshmen orientation." She said. "Isn't that a good thing?" I asked as I put my arm around her. "Yeah, it is for the other 29 that got invited. But for me, it means I have to graduate early, and I'll be missing out on prom, and the rest of the senior activities, I won't be able to spend the rest of my senior year the way I planned, I won't have you or Maya or Farkle there with me. I mean I'll be able to walk at the ceremony but it wouldn't be the same and neither would prom." She said as she linked her arm with mine and rested her head on my shoulder I lifted up her chin. "Hey, you should definitely go, we'll still see each other outside of school. Plus you're not going to miss the rest of senior year. I promise you." I said as I turned her to face me and I ran my fingers through her hair. "Riley, you're already two steps ahead of us, you're going to be changing the world. I really think that you should do this. I know you will regret it if you don't, don't let us stand in your way. This is your dream." I said. "But I want to spend the rest of my senior year with you," she said, "And you will." I said. "How?" she asked, "Just trust me." I said as I gave her a kiss on the lips.

As much as it hurt to tell Riley to go, I wanted her to be happy. Columbia is her dream. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to leave New York. She would still be here with me, for now. But then after that, I would be the one to leave her. She would be here in New York, alone at Columbia. I couldn't stand the idea of her being alone. But I knew she wouldn't want me to give up my dream to be with her. But there was a part of me that wanted to because she was worth it.

Riley's POV:

Today was finally the day of my freshman orientation. I was a little nervous. But I knew it was going to fly by soon. As I walked through campus, I saw so many unfamiliar faces. They all seemed to belong here. But did I? I felt so small on a big campus. Everything was all so new and it was overwhelming yet exciting at the same time. I finally found the lecture hall where all the students were meeting for orientation. I quickly sat down and waited until the orientation start. "Welcome everyone!" one of the supervisors said as she walked through the door. "Today is the first day of reaching the top!" she began to say. She went on and on about how thrilled they were that we could be here and then it was time to go get a tour of the school. I was walking through the halls, when I bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry about that- whoa." The voice said. I looked up and the guy had green eyes, brown hair and he reminded me of Cody Christian. "That's alright. I should pay more attention to where I'm going." I said as I started to walk away. "Wait." He said as he caught up to me. "I'm sorry to bug you but I find you very intriguing." He said. "I'm Michael." He said as he stuck his hand out. "I'm Riley." I said as I shook his hand. "So are you here for the freshmen orientation too?" he asked. I nodded. "I don't mean to sound creepy, but maybe you can be my buddy for the rest of the day?" he asked. I thought about it for a moment. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." I said as we walked into the auditorium. "So, what school did you come from?" he asked. "I came here from John Adams. And you?" I asked. "Lincoln." He said. "Do you like it there?" he asked. "I love it there, but I know this is only the first day but I'm already missing everyone. Like my two best friends and my boyfriend." I said.

He stopped walking. "Boyfriend?" he asked. "Yeah, I have a boyfriend." I said. "Oh, I see. Well looks like I made a new friend today" he said as he continued to walk by my side. After the tour, we had time to go and find our classes. It turned out that Michael and I have the same English class together so he tagged along with me. We finally found our classroom on the fourth floor. I was not looking forward to that. All of a sudden, my phone buzzed. "Hello?" I said. "Hey, babe. How was Columbia? Wait are you still there?" Lucas asked. "Yes, I'm still here but I'm just looking for my classes so your fine." I said. "How is it?" he asked. "It's pretty nice. I made a new friend." I said. "What's her name?" he asked. "His name is Michael. But you have nothing to worry about." I said. Lucas was silent. "I'm cuter than him right?" he asked. I smiled. "Very." I said. "Okay, good. But you don't seem so thrilled to be there." he said. "No, don't get me wrong. I like being here but I feel like I belong somewhere else." I said. "What time are you going to be done?" he asked. "In about ten minutes or depending on how long it takes to find all of my classes." I said. "Okay, text me when you go home. I'll come over and you can tell me more about it and I'll try my best to comfort you." he said. "You're already doing it. I'll see you soon. I love you." I said. "I love you more, baby girl." He said. We said goodbye and I finished looking for the rest of my classes.

Once I got home, I went upstairs to my room and jumped when I saw Lucas siting at my window. "Did I scare you?" he asked. "No, I just decided to do a quick work out before I entered my room." I said sarcastically. He came over and gave me a bear hug. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He said as he kissed my forehead. We walked over to the bay window and he picked up the picnic basket he bought. "So, you didn't sound too happy on the phone, so I brought you, rocky road ice cream, Hershey kisses, a bag of Ghiradelli, and we have a reservation at le mare restaurant at 7." He said. I smiled and pulled him into a kiss. "Okay, so tell me what happened? Who's this Michael?" He asked. I gave him a look. "Michael is just someone I bumped into and he turned into orientation buddies for the day, we went to go find our classes together because we have the same English class. But it felt weird being there I felt like I belonged somewhere else." I said. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. "Maybe Columbia isn't for me. I felt suffocated there. But I don't know what I'm going to do now." I said. "I mean Columbia has been my dream for so long but I'm not so sure it's my dream anymore. I don't know, maybe I can try it out for a year and if I still feel like this then I'll talk to my parents about it." I said.

"Maybe it wasn't the school that made you feel like this, maybe it's the fact that were growing up now and the fact that were about to be in college, well some of us. Everything is changing and nothing is slowing down. I know the future is scaring you, but you're going to be okay, we're going to be okay. Try to give it time to all settle in." He said. "You're probably right." I said as I took a bag of chocolate from him. "I'm not sharing this." I said as I got up. "Uh yes you are," he said as he got up. I slowly started backing away from him and he followed. "Riley, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." He said as he continued to walk towards me. We ended up chasing each other around the room, first the bag of chocolate was in my hand, then it was in his, now it's back in mines and we just keep going back and forth. Then he tackled me onto my bed and took the bag from me. "I win." He said with a grin as he started to open the bag. "Come here." I said as I pulled him into a kiss, then I snatched the bag from him. "Actually, you lose." I said as I sat up and unwrapped a chocolate. "That's not fair." He said as he put his arms around me. "I guess I'll share." I said as I handed him the bag. "Thank you." he said.

It was finally time to go to our dinner reservations, I was wearing a strapless navy blue dress jumpsuit, with black wedges and had my hair up in a bun. Lucas was wearing a dark grey button up with black pants and white shoes. "Alright, are you ready to go eat some Italian food?" he asked. "Of course." I said as we walked out of my house and to his car. After ten minutes of driving, we finally got to the restaurant. We got to our seats and started to figure out what we wanted to order. "Okay, so there is something that I need to tell you. That's kind of why I wanted to have this dinner." He said as he adjusted his napkin. "I've been thinking about which school I've been wanting to go ever since I got my letters, I didn't know what I where I wanted go, and I told you I wanted you to be a part of my decision. Everyone told me to follow my heart, and so I am. I decided I wanted to go to USC." He said. I stopped eating. "But what about Berkeley, that's your dream." I said. "I know, but I wanted to go to USC so that I can be 720.5 miles away from you, because you are my heart." He said. "Lucas, I love you but I won't be able to live with myself if you don't follow your dreams. I don't want you to put your dreams on hold because of me." I said. "I'm not, USC is a good school as well, it was my second option. Riley, I love you. I'm willing to give up my dream school for you. You said you want me to be happy, this makes me happy." He said,

I looked at him for a moment. "Lucas, it's not just what makes you happy, I do want you to be happy but I don't want this to be something you regret later on." I said. "I feel you don't want me near you." he said. "Are you kidding me? I hate the fact that we are going to miles apart from each other. I'm just trying to make sure this is what you really want, because if it is then I couldn't be more thrilled. Like I said don't let me stand in your way." I said. Lucas looked down. "Riley, I am going to say this again. You're not standing in my way, this is a decision I am making for me, for us. I love you and I want to spend my college years knowing that you're close by. I don't want to be 2,000 miles away knowing that another guy is making you smile more than I am. I don't like the fact that other people are going to be around you while I'm miles away wishing I was there, to hold you close, to comfort you, to see that beautiful smile of yours. I love you Riley. I want to do this. I will be happy as long as you're with me physically and or emotionally." He said. All I could do was smile.

I never had any doubts that Lucas loved me, but after the whole time, there was still that fear that I would happen again. I told myself it was a risk I had to take because I loved him and I didn't want to lose him again. I feel like we have been telling each other how we felt constantly, because after that incident that's pretty much all we have been doing. I mean we still have fun when were with each other but now it has gotten more emotional than physical. Maybe it was the fact that senior year was ending or we were just trying to prove to each other how much we were really dedicated to this relationship. After dinner, he took me home and gave me a kiss goodnight.

The next day Maya and I were hanging out at the diner, and we were planning our spring break together. "Okay, so are we even going to be able to have a spring break considering the fact that you already started college." She said. "I don't know, there is a possibility we can. But now I'm not so sure. I'm so sorry I forgot about our road trip. This whole college thing has really been eating me up." I said. "I don't blame you. We can always save it for the summer. Just the two of us. But do you want to go for the whole summer or just like a month or a couple of weeks?" she asked. "We can go for a month. If you want to." I said. "But I'm not so sure Lucas and I will survive a month without each other." I said sarcastically. "Hey, this will be good practice for the future. You guys are going to be in a long distance relationship. He's going to USC and you're staying here. It didn't surprise me when he gave up Berkeley for you, it's definitely something he would do." Maya said. "It's so weird, ever since we got back together, we've been more emotional than physical. It's making me feel suffocated but I mean it could just be the fact that senior year is ending." I said as I took a bite out of my cake. "It could be. Heck, it's been like that for us but Riley, you guys have been through so many ups and downs. You guys are so much stronger now. It's okay that you guys have been sharing your feelings a lot lately, it's like reassurance." Maya said.

After we ate, we drove to the mall and decided to do a little bit of shopping. I was looking at a cute black dress when I saw a familiar face. "Maya, is that who I think it is?" I said as I tapped her. Her eyes grew wide. "No way, what is she doing here?" she asked. "I have no idea, but maybe we should go to a different store." I said. Maya grabbed me. "Riley, we are staying. This is our favorite store. If anyone should leave. It should be her." Maya said. Then she started walking towards us. "Act natural." I said as I struck a weird pose. "Oh yeah that's definitely a natural pose." Maya said sarcastically. She was now standing right in front of us, I got out of my weird pose and just stood there. "Yes?" Maya said as the girl stayed silent. "How's it going?" she asked. "It was going good until you had the courage to come over here. What do you want?" Maya said. The girl looked down. "I just wanted to apologize." She said. "For what? The only person that needed an apology was Lucas. You tried to ruin his life. We were just trying to get him to see how psychotic you really are. So sorry if we don't see through your little act right now." Maya said. "Amber, I think you should just leave. Save the apology for someone else." I said. Maya looked impressed with me.

"Look, can you guys just please give me a chance to explain myself." Amber begged. Maya and I looked at each other. "Fine, give it your best shot." Maya said. "It wasn't right of me to pretend to be someone else, just to fit in. it wasn't right of me to try and ruin Lucas's life. But I love him and I still do. I just wish I had another chance to start over with everyone. Because I wasn't in the right state of mind and you guys are pretty cool and I would love it if we could be friends again. I won't get in the way of-." I interrupted her. "Amber, just stop. You're not even making any sense to us at all. You tried to ruin all of our lives, especially Lucas's. How do you expect us to believe anything you say after all that we found out about you? We're not going to give you a second chance. People like you don't deserve a second chance." I said. She looked down. "Maybe you won't give me a second chance, but I know Lucas will." She said. "Do you not remember what he told you in the jewelry store? Lucas will not give you a second chance, maybe there's a small chance of him forgiving you, but he's not going to give you another chance considering the fact that were back together and nothing is going to break us up this time." I said. "Wait, Lucas told her off in the jewelry store?" Maya whispered. "Yes, I told you that." I said. "No you did not tell me. It is the most important detail from this situation riles." Maya said. "Are we seriously doing this right now, there's a monster in front of us." I said as we looked back at Amber. Amber took a step forward. "Well, I tried. I guess one day you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive me." Amber said as she walked away. Maya and I stood still as we watched Amber leave. "Do you think she's going to come back and attack us?" I asked as I looked at Maya. "I hope not, but we should stay close just in case." She said as we went back to shopping.

After that I went home and called Lucas to tell him what had happened.

 **Riley  
** Lucas

" _Hello?"_

" _ **Hey, babe. What're you doing?"**_

" _Just got home from the batting cages, what about you? I miss you."_

" _ **Just got back from the mall with Maya and I miss you too."**_

" _How was it?"_

" _ **Something happened. Is there any way you can come over? I think it's best if we talk about this in person."**_

" _Yeah, I'll be over in ten. Are you okay?"_

" _ **Yeah, I'm fine but I'll see you soon."**_

" _Seen you soon."_

I wanted to talk to Lucas about this face to face because what if I tell him and he says one thing but his facial expression says another and then I would really know how he feels. Even though he has told me a thousand of times that it's me. I just wanted to see how he would react to this. Finally, Lucas had arrived but he came through my front door instead of my window. "Hey, take a seat." I said. Lucas walked over and sat next to by the window. "This doesn't sound too good." He said with a worried look on his face. "You're fine. Don't worry, I just saw someone today." I said. "Who?" he asked. "Don't freak out?" I asked. He took a deep breath. "I'll try not to but I can't promise you." he said. "Maya and I ran into Amber." I said. Lucas's face turned pale, and his eyes looked very infuriating. It looked like there was fire in them. His nostrils flared and he clenched his fist. "Go on." He managed to get out. "Well, we were at the mall, Maya and I were in our favorite store and we saw her. Then she walked over to us and tried to talk to us." I said as I looked at boiling Lucas. "What did she say?" he asked. "She tried to apologize to us, and she wanted us to give her another chance. She told me that she still loved you and she wanted another chance with you." I said. Lucas was as red as a tomato now. He looked extremely furious.

He took a moment to calm himself down. "She didn't hurt you right?" he asked, I scooted back just in case he was about to go nuts. But then his face softened up as soon as he realized he was scaring me. He then scooted towards me and put his arm around me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he said as he kissed my forehead. "She's not going to take me away from you, okay? It's not going to happen. You mean to much to me." he said. "But what if it does?" I asked. He looked at me. "It won't happen again. I was stupid to do that. I wasn't thinking straight and she asked me to be her boyfriend and I was stupid enough to say yes, because I was vulnerable. But there's no excuse for that, Riley. I'm with you for so many reasons, Amber didn't make me feel the way you do. You want to know why? Because when I'm with you, I don't want to stop talking to you, I don't want to take my eyes off of you, I don't want to leave you, I hate every second when I'm not with you, knowing that you're with someone else. There's another reason why I wanted to switch locations, I want to spend my college years knowing that you're close by, and I know that one day, I won't have to say goodbye to you for a long time, I'll get to come home and see you, sitting with our kids. I won't have to say goodbye, I would only have to say good night, good morning or see you later. I love you, Riley. I will always love you even after I take my last breath. You're very important to me, Riley. I won't leave your side. I promise you." Lucas said as he looked into my eyes. "Is that how you really feel about me?" I asked. "Of course, I've always felt that way about you." he said as he pulled me into a kiss.

Lucas's POV:

After I left Riley's, there was some business I needed to take care of. I drove to Starbucks and sat in the very corner in the back of them room. Fifteen minutes later, Amber showed up. "I'm surprised you wanted to see me!" she said as she sat down across from me. I took a deep breath. "Look. I am not here to hear a sob story from you about how you still love me, none of that. I'm going to talk and all you're going to do is listen. I told you. I told you to stay away from me, from everyone. I told you to leave New York. I told you if you ever came back here, I would tell everyone the truth." I said. "I am not going to sit here and listen to this. Lucas, you told Riley the truth." Amber said. "Because she had every right to know, I told you that if you come back here, you're not going to be getting a warm welcome from me. I mean I understand why it would be hard for you to leave New York. But here's the new deal. If you see us out in public, if you see my friends, or my family out in public. You walk away, you don't talk to them, don't look at them, nothing. If you ever try to talk to Riley or anyone else, I will destroy you and that's a promise." I said. Amber looked down. I took one last sip of my coffee and walked out.

After that whole confrontation, I had to go see Farkle. I drove over to his house and the doorman opened the gate for me. I parked my car and walked up to the door. "Lucas!" Farkle said as he opened the door. "Hey man!" I said as I walked in. "So what's up?" he said. "Not much, just went to go see Riley and she told me some interesting news. I need Farkle time. I wanted to go back to Riley's but she's studying with Smackle." I said as we walked upstairs. "Farkle time it is." He said. Once we entered his room, I plopped myself down on his bean bag. "Alright, what happened?" Farkle asked as he sat down at his desk. "Riley was shopping with Maya today and someone popped up, they really scared Riley. But she handled it very well." I said. "Who was it?" Farkle asked. I sat up. "It was Amber." I said. "Amber? I thought she moved." He said. "I thought so too, there's something I haven't told you. I feel like I should since you're my best friend and Riley probably told Maya since the story since their like sisters. So I feel that it is right, to tell you." I said. "Okay, tell me." he said. "Alright, the day that Amber and I broke up, it was the day I was going to propose to her because I thought it was the right thing to do. But then Amber went up to Riley, and said some things to her that made me really snap. So we went to the jewelry store and she was picking out rings, and that's when I laid everything out on her. I started to question her. She pretended that Gloria's pregnancy test was hers, she stole my mom's earrings. She did the whole panty plot. She basically lied about everything. You guys were right. Then I told her to get out of John Adams, get out of New York, and I told her I was going to makeup whatever story she wanted me to, and if she ever came back, there would be consequences and of course, she came back. So I met her at Starbucks earlier, and made a new deal with her. I told her if she sees you guys, especially Riley walking around town that she is to not make any contact with you guys or else I'll destroy her." I said.

"Does Riley know about that?" He asked. "No, after I left her house I met up with Amber 15 minutes later. I am planning on telling her though. But at the same time I don't want to, because what if it just makes everything worse and I lose her again?" I said. "You won't. I saw how Riley was without you. She's insane about you and what girl would be brave enough to tell you how she felt in front of the whole baseball team? I'm surprised she made her way through coach. Riley is in love with you. She was shattered when you left her but even then, she still cared for you, she still found a way to be there for you, no matter how badly you hurt her. You did the same, I would say you guys are soulmates." He said. "It's really crazy to think that we are, I just want to propose to her already but it's too soon and I have other things to worry about like prom." I said. "Speaking of prom, are you even going to go?" he asked. "Of course, I could just get Riley a guest pass and we can go together." I said. "What about all the other seniors only activities? I know how pretty bummed she was that she wasn't going to be able to be a part of that." Farkle said. "I have something in mind." I said.

 **Hi! I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should. I have been getting ready for my second year of college. I haven't been able to stop writing this chapter, so sorry if it's so long. I hope you guys like it. Chapter 12 is on it's way and if you're following my other story, "Girl Meets Ever After" I'm sorry for the wait on that! New chapters are coming soon! xx**


	12. Chapter 12: Power of Love

Chapter 12: Power of Love

Maya's POV:

"Mom, I'm heading off to the mall. I'll meet you at the diner afterwards." I said as I walked out of the house and got into Riley's car. "Well hello, my darling." Riley said as I put on my seatbelt. "Hello, sweetheart." I said. We drove off to the mall and I was a little nervous. I got the scholarship to a really fancy art school in Italy and I was meeting with them today to discuss more about my scholarship. They wanted to meet in person to talk about this so they flew in from Italy and I was going to meet with them at 4pm today. "Maya, are you nervous?" Riley asked. "You have no idea. I mean their coming to me. They don't usually do that for just anybody. Just why me?" I said. "You're special Maya and you are such an incredible artist. They would be dumb enough to not come to you. I can't wait to see all the beautiful creations you make." She said. "What if they want to go over my paintings, what if they want something new? Oh gosh, I'm turning into you." I said. "Hey, you're going to be fine and if they do, just let your heart lead the way, let your mind flow and just paint. You always make something beautiful." she said. "Riley, you always know what to say. I'm just so nervous and excited at the same time. Whoa- when did we get to the mall?" I asked as soon as I realized we were in the parking lot. "Like two minutes ago. You've been focused on other things." Riley teased as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. I followed along with her.

"Can you blame a girl?" I said. We walked into the mall, and inhaled the smell of food coming from the food court. "The thing I'm worried about is, what if they change their mind about me?" I asked. "They're not going to change their minds, if they didn't think you were a truly gifted artist, then they wouldn't have given you this scholarship. They believe in you, the same way I believe in you. You're going to be fine." Riley said. She always manages to make me feel better. "Let's go get food." I said. Maybe some food would help me get my mind off of it. "I don't even know what I want to wear, but I know I have to look my best." I said as I dug into a plate of pasta. "Ooh, what about that navy blue dress you got from forever 21, the other day." Riley suggested. "Oh my god, I completely forgot I bought that. That is perfect." I said. "So new subject, what're you going to do about prom? Are you and Lucas going?" I asked. "I want to, and Lucas would probably have to get me a guest pass. But yeah, I think we are. He would have to ask the question first." She said. "I'm probably going to end up going with Farkle. But I wouldn't mind it. Surprisingly." I said as I took a sip of water.

We were finishing our food, when all of a sudden Missy Bradford and her little clique came up to us. "Aww, look girls, it's the loserville." She said. "What do you want, Missy?" I asked. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted to wish you luck on your little meeting with Italy today, you're going to need it anyways, considering the fact that the only reason why you got it is because you're nothing but a charity case." She said. "Awww." I said with sympathy. "Do you feel better about yourself now? Because I know you needed to cheer up, especially since you didn't even get into any of the schools that you wanted. So if I were you, I would just walk away before it gets more embarrassing." I said with a smile. "Girls!" Missy said as she snapped her fingers and stomped away. "Will she ever give up?" Riley asked. "I doubt it." I said.

After we ate, we decided to go to Forever 21. But then when we passed by Tiffany Co, I saw Lucas in there, he was looking at jewelry. I had to figure out what he was doing. "Hey, Riles. I'll meet you at Forever 21, I have to take care of something real fast." I said. "What? Um, okay. I'll see you in a bit then." She said as she walked on. I made sure she walked right into the store before I made my move. I walked into the store and slowly made up my way to Lucas. "What're you doing?" I asked with a smile on my face. He jumped. "O-oh M-Maya, how long have you been there?" he asked. "Just got here. Are you looking at engagement rings?" I said in shock. "What? No. I'm looking for an um a belly ring." He said with hesitation. "A belly ring?" I asked. "Yeah." he said. "Just tell me." I said. He sighed. "Fine, yeah I'm looking at engagement rings, but I'm not planning on proposing anytime soon. We just got back together a month ago, I was also thinking about getting her a charm bracelet. It's my way of asking her to prom. I was going to have them engrave prom on the inside of the case." He said. "You know, she's going to be more focused on the necklace than the word itself." I said. "It's one of my ideas, but I'm not so sure I'm going to go through with it. I'm still going to get her a necklace though, to go along with a ring. I want to get it now. This ring is the one she's being eyeing for a while now. Before we started dating, like way before. This ring was the one she wanted the love of her life to propose to her with. Every time we came to the mall, she would always drool over it. This ring is special and also, the guy said it's the last one. So I need to get it today." He said. I smiled. "Aww, looks like Winnie found his piglet. I'm actually here with Riley, but don't worry I won't say a word. She's waiting for me at Forever 21. I'll see you later dude." I said as I walked out of the store.

I walked into the store and called Riley to find her. "Maya!" Riley yelled. I looked over to my left and Riley was walking towards me. "Where did you go?" she asked. "Oh, just saw someone I knew. I had to talk to them about something." I said. "Oh okay, well are you okay?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said as I started to look at clothes. I glanced at her and made a little grin. She had no idea what was coming her way. After we finished shopping, it was time for me to go home and face the Italians.

As I walked up the steps of my home, I could feel the atmosphere already. It was anticipation. I slowly walked into the house and my mom just got done putting out snacks and refreshments for them. I decided to go get ready, so I slipped on my navy blue dress and wore black wedges and straightened my hair. I walked back into the waiting room and waited for them to come. Twenty minutes later, they had finally arrived. "Okay, so Maya. Are you excited to be spending the next four years of your life in Italy?" one of the recruiters asked. "Yes, I believe I am." I said as I adjusted my dress. "Okay, so we just wanted to go over the basics with you. You will be on a scholarship, you'll live on campus and if you are in need of work, we can put you apart of the work program. So now for the real hard work, you already submitted three paintings, but that was to get into the school, now we need you to paint one more painting that tells us who you really are as a person, as an artist." They said. I froze. I couldn't just paint on the spot. But then I remembered what Riley had told me and I knew I could do it. "When's my due time?" I asked. "You have until noon tomorrow, but there's also a gala on Friday at 8. We know this is short notice but we would love it, if you could give a speech along with the painting." They said. "I would have to think about it, but it sounds great." I said. After the meeting, I went over to Riley's house, I needed my best friend.

"How you doing?" I said as I knocked on Riley's window. "Maya! Hey, what happened to your meeting?" she asked as I climbed through. "I just finished like ten minutes ago. They want me to submit a painting about who I truly am as a person, as an artist. I don't think I can do that Riley." I said as I put my head on her shoulder. "Hey, yes you can. You're Maya! You can do anything you set your mind to." She said as she stroked my hair, "I don't know. I mean I knew that this was probably going to happen. But I need to unwind first. Can we go to the bakery and get milkshakes?" I asked. "Of course," Riley said as she got up. I left my car at Riley's and we decided to walk to the bakery.

"This milkshake has to be the best milkshake I have ever had." Riley said as she took another sip. "Well, of course. It's chocolate, you do love your chocolate." I said. "Ladies," I heard Farkle say as he entered the bakery and made his way over to us. "What do you want?" I asked. "Nothing, I came here to get some sweet pastries, is that a crime?" he asked. "When it's you, yes it is." I said sarcastically. Then two minutes later, Lucas came and joined us. "Alright, Farkle here is your Danish." He said as he sat down next to Riley. "Why, thank you." Farkle said as he dug in. "Why are you two sitting with us?" I asked. "Oh- did we interrupt something?" Lucas asked. "No, but you could've." I said. Lucas shrugged. "So how did your meeting go?" Farkle asked. "It went fine, but I have to submit another painting by noon tomorrow. But for now, I would like to unwind. So let's not bring it up again." I said.

"No problem, hey I have something for you." Farkle said as he handed me a Chinese food box. "I'm not really craving for Chinese." I said. "Just open it." Farkle said. I shrugged and opened the box. Inside the box, there was a big fortune cookie, I cracked it open and on the inside it said. " _You can have the time of your life, on a magical night, if you go to prom with me. –F"_ Prom? I thought to myself. Well it was coming up, but I didn't think he would ask me this fast. "Prom?" I asked. "Yes, will you go with me?" Farkle asked. I looked at Riley and she was beaming. Then I looked over at Lucas and he mouthed "say yes." I looked back at Farkle who looked so pale. "Yes, I will go to prom with you but this is just friendship." I said. Farkle fainted. "Everyday." I said. "Aww, that was very sweet." Riley said as she got up and went to go get a refill. "When are you going to ask Riley?" I asked Lucas. "I don't know." He said. "Well, if you keep waiting she is going to think that you're not going to ask her at all." I said. "You of all people, know how special she is, I don't know how to make a prom proposal for someone as special as her." he said.

Riley's POV:

After we all ate, Maya and Farkle left to go over prom details while Lucas and I went back to my house. "Are you okay?" I asked Lucas. "You've been acting a little strange today." I said as I sat on my bed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. I just have a lot on my mind." He said as he sat down next to me. "Like what?" I asked. "I don't really want to talk about it." he said. I thought that was strange because Lucas always wanted to talk to about things. "Are you sure?" I asked. He nodded. Then he put his arm around me and started to kiss me. The kiss deepened and we fell back onto my bed. "Okay, I'm sorry as much as I love kissing you, I can't shake the fact that there's something wrong." I said as I pushed him off of me. "Riley, trust me. I'm okay." He said as he got back on top. "I don't believe you." I said as I pushed him off again. We both laid on our sides and faced each other. "It's nothing bad. It's a good thing but as hard as it is, I can't tell you because it's a surprise." He said. I gave him an evil look. "You're so cute." He said as he pulled me into another kiss.

Maya's POV:

After going over some prom details with Farkle, I went home to start on my painting. I walked into my room and pulled out all of my art supplies. I took a deep breath and let my heart guide the way through the canvas. After days of working on my art work, it was finally complete and ready for the art gala tonight. Everyone was going there to support me and I really appreciated that. "Hey, kiddo." Shawn said as he walked into my room. "Hey, Shawn." I said. "Hey, we went over this. You can call me dad." He said. "You nervous?" he asked. "What if I mess up on my speech?" I said. "You won't. This is your moment and you are going to kill it!" he said. Once we got to the gallery, I saw Riley and Lucas walking around looking at the other pieces and Farkle and Smackle were getting food from the buffet table. "Hey Riles!" I said as I walked over to her. "Hey, you look amazing. Are you ready for your speech?" she asked. "A little. But I'm just afraid I'm going to embarrass myself." I said. "You are going to be fine and if you do, we will be here for you." she said as she gave me another hug. "Yeah, you're going to be great Maya, you're an amazing artist." Lucas said. An hour had passed and it was time for me to give my speech.

I walked up to the podium and began. "Hello, I am Maya Hart, I will be attending le'art in Italy. I feel so honored to be here, considering I haven't even began my first year of college yet. I'm still finishing my senior year and I can't wait to spend the next four years of my life in Italy. So my painting is called The Girl Who Found Hope, I decided to showcase what was on the inside. The girl on the inside is filled with broken hopes and dreams, the girl who mourned for a father figure, the girl who knows what it's like to not have a meal every single day, the girl who knows what it was like to live from pay check to pay check, the girl who knows what it was like to be poor. But on the outside, the girl seemed like a perfect human being, the way she carried herself, the way she dressed, the way she remained positive throughout everything she had been through. I wanted to show that even though, I have been ripped apart so many times, I have managed to glue myself back together and I am a much better person because of it. Before, I was invisible to everyone around me, or at least that's what I thought. Then my best friend; Riley Matthews came into my life. She made a positive impact on my life, along with so many others. This painting is who I am, who I've become. Before I never hoped for anything, because i thought it was useless. I didn't believe in hope, or faith. But I now I do, because life is much more better if you have a little hope." I said.

Once I finished my speech, everyone started applauding for me. Once I got down from the podium, Riley ran over and hugged me. "You were amazing! I'm so proud of you!" she said. "Good job, Maya." Lucas said. We all continued to look at paintings until the event was over. Then we decided to head down to the beach afterwards.

Lucas's POV:

"Nothing like a night at the beach," I said as I put my arm around Riley. "You know… if it was just the two of us… we could do something a lot more fun." She teased. "Like what?" I asked. "Skinny dipping." She whispered. "Maya, Farkle you guys can leave now." I said. They didn't hear me. "Aww, we have next time babe." Riley said as she gave me a kiss and dragged me down to the water. "You know, I can't wait to come back here and see how much things changed. Coming back here, being married to you." I said. I suddenly realize what I had just said. I hope she wouldn't ask me what I meant by that. But then I remembered I told her I was going to marry her someday. "Well, I guess we will just have to wait and see where life takes us," Riley said. We walked by the water hand in hand, all of a sudden Maya and Farkle ran past us. "I'm going to get you, you little devil!" Maya yelled. "I am most definitely going to miss those two." I said. I wanted to propose to her right then and there, but were too young right now and I haven't even asked her to prom yet. So I had to hold myself back. We caught up to Maya and Farkle who were now sitting by the bonfire. "Hey guys." I said as I sat down and put Riley on my lap. "You seriously can never stop holding her." Farkle teased. "What can I say? I have a problem" I said as I gave Riley a kiss on the cheek.

"I can't believe were all going to be college, well except for Riley. You're technically already in college." Farkle said. "It's better than high school but I wish you guys could be there with me," she said as she leaned back on me. "I wish we could to." I said as I gave her another kiss. "Enough with the kisses." Maya said sarcastically. "You're just jealous." I said. "And I cry myself to sleep every night because of it!" she said sarcastically. After the bonfire, Maya and Farkle left and Riley and I decided to stay a little longer. We were sitting in the back of my truck looking up at the stars, I wanted to ask her to prom, I wanted to ask her to marry me. But it had to be in a special way, because she is very special to me. But maybe I didn't need to do anything extreme. I could do it right now because this moment was perfect. But I didn't even have a sign or anything. Then I remembered I had the necklace in my truck. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to get something out of my truck." I said as I got up and hopped out of the trunk. I opened the passenger seat and found the necklace. I didn't get to have prom engraved on it. But luckily, I found a sharpie and wrote prom on the inside of the case. The case was beautiful baby blue case, with lace all over it. I quickly made my way back to the trunk of my truck, to find Riley smiling up at the sky.

"Hey," I said as I hopped back in. "Hey, what did you go get?" she asked. "I think you might want to sit up for this." I said. She sat up and looked at me. "I've been wanting to do something special for you, for so long but I just didn't know what to do. You're really special to me and I wanted to find the right way to ask you this. So I got you this." I said as I handed her the jewelry box. Her face lit up. "What is this?" she asked. "Open it." I said. She slowly opened the box, then I watched as her mouth slowly opened. She looked at me and then back to the bracelet. "Lucas, it is beautiful." she said as she put it on. Maya was right, she didn't even noticed that I was asking her to prom. "What is this for?" she asked. "I think you should read the inside of the box." I said with chuckle. She picked the box back up and let out a squeal after she read it. "Yes!" she said as she jumped onto my lap and gave me a kiss.

Riley's POV:

"Oh my gosh, this was really sweet of you." I said as I hugged Lucas one more time. "Anything for you." he said. "It's getting pretty late, I think I should take you home now." Lucas said. I agreed and he drove me back to my apartment. He opened the car door for me and walked me to my door. "So I guess this is goodnight." He said. "I guess it is." I said as I got on my tip toes and gave him a kiss. In that moment, everything had changed. There was a new feeling in the air, it was more intense, more passionate. As the kiss deepened, I felt my knees begin to feel like jello, my heart started to beat faster than usual. It was like we couldn't get enough of each other, we couldn't pull apart. I just wanted more and so did he. "Wow." Lucas said as he exhaled. "I should probably go." He said as he gave me a quick hug and walked away. As I watched him drive away, I was leaning against the front door, with a stupid smile on my face. Lucas and I have made love before, we have made out so many times, but this kiss seemed to have topped all of that for some reason. I felt irresistible.

I was looking for something to wear to sleep when I found a small brown box in the corner of my closet. I had never seen that before. That was odd. I opened the box and on the inside, there was a small rose broche, and a letter. I picked up the broche with caution because it looked so fragile to me. The letter said:

 _Dear Riley Matthews,_

 _If you are reading this letter, then you have found the small brown box that I have hidden in your closet. Inside, you will find a broche. Now you must keep this broche, protect it as if your life depended on it. This broche has been in the family for generations. My great grandmother gave it to my grandma, who gave it to my mother, who gave it to me, and I gave it to your mother and now I pass it on to you. I had this broche with me throughout every obstacle in my life. It was the broche I was wearing when I first met the love of my life. I even had it with me when I married him. Maybe the broche will be lucky for you one day. I hope one day you can pass this on to your kids and keep this going on for other generations to come… - T_

T? Who do I know that has a name that starts with a letter T? I was starting to feel a little creeped out. So I closed my curtains and locked my windows. I covered every inch of my room that had a little peek of the outside world. I have no idea how this box could have gotten into my closet. I needed to find out who this person was.

 **So this is the end of Chapter 12. Again, I apologize for not updating as much as I should but in the next chapter we will find out more clues as to who T could be and also, we get to see the storyline of how Farkle got into Harvard. Also, will Amber return when the four friends attend prom together? Will things heat up with Riley and Lucas? I guess you'll just have to wait and see! Remember, this is all fiction so just go along with me. Stay tuned for Chapter 13! xx**


	13. Chapter 13: Timing

Chapter 13: Timing

 **Author's Note: HI! I'm going to clear up some confusion. I apologize for the whole necklace/charm bracelet situation. At first, I was going to have Lucas give Riley a necklace but then I remembered he gave her a necklace already so I changed it to charm bracelet and I thought I had changed it in every paragraph that had the subject of the necklace in it but I didn't. I know I mentioned both but he gives her the charm bracelet. I hope this sort of helps. Also, I sort of messed up in the last chapter where Riley thought that there was no one in her family that had name that started with a letter T. But the T does not stand for Topanga. Enjoy Chapter 13!**

Riley's POV:

T? Who is T? I mean the letter said that they had passed this onto my mom, and now they're passing it on to me. So it can't be my mom. But shouldn't it be her? Since the broche was passed onto her. She was the last person to have it. I was lost in my own thoughts until someone came up and hugged me. Knowing their scent, it was definitely Lucas. "Hey, you." he said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "You okay?" he asked as he noticed my frown. "Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind. But I don't really feel like talking about it right now." I said as I closed my locker. "Okay, well I can certainly cheer you up." He said as he gently pushed me against my locker and kissed me. We were kissing for a good two minutes when all of a sudden we heard a sound of disgust. "Everyday." Maya said as she put in her locker combination. "I'm sorry." I said as I blushed. "Mhm." Maya said. "Lucas! Team meeting!" one of his teammates yelled. "Oh shoot, I forgot about that. I'll see you afterschool." He said as he gave me another kiss and ran after his teammates. "I thought we were prom shopping afterschool." Maya said as she put books in her bag. "We are. Lucas and I always give each other goodbye kisses afterschool before he goes to practice. You know that." I said. "Oh, right. Anyways, do you have any idea what type of dress you want?" Maya asked as we walked away from our lockers. "No clue. I mean this dress is the second most important dress to my wedding dress. It has to be beautiful." I said. "Knowing you, you can wear a simple dress and you would still make it beautiful." Maya said. "Aww, thank you peaches." I said. School had gone by so fast, it was already afterschool and I was waiting for Lucas at his locker.

Fifteen minutes had already passed and he still didn't show. "Hey," Maya said as she walked over to me. "I've been waiting for you for fifteen minutes. Why are you standing here alone?" she asked. "Well, I've been waiting for Lucas." I said as I kept my eyes to the ground. "Really? Because I just saw him leave with some of his teammates." Maya said. I could feel my face turning red, my hands start to sweat and my whole body start to shake. "Riley?" Maya said as she put her hand on my shoulder. "I can't believe him. I know I see him every day, but this is our tradition. I always give him a kiss before he goes to practice." I said as I put my hand into a fist. "I am going to kill him, but let's go to the mall and get your mind off of this. A little retail therapy should do it." Maya said "Let's go to the lounge first, I want to hear his story." I said as we walked out of the school with our arms around each other's waist.

Lucas's POV:

"Hey, Lucas! Want to go to the lounge with us before practice? There's some pretty hot chicks there." Bryan said. "I have a girlfriend dude." I said as I zipped up my backpack. "Oh, right. Well I mean you can still come and chill with us." He said. "Okay, but I have to go say goodbye to my girlfriend first." I said as I stood up. "Just text her, dude let's go." He said. Bryan said as he dragged me away. "Dude, I need to say goodbye to my girlfriend." I said as I tried to let go. "And like I said, just text her." he said as the rest of the team joined him. Riley is definitely going to be mad at me. I was about to text her when all of a sudden Bryan took my phone from me. We were all hanging out in the lounge, and we were all surrounded by girls except for me. Riley was the only girl I wanted and no one was going to change that. All of a sudden, Missy Bradford came over to me. "Hey you." she said as she poked my nose. "Missy, I'm with Riley." I said as I scooted away from her. She followed along and scooted closer to me. "Oh I know, but that doesn't mean I still can't try." She said as she ran her hand down my leg. "Okay, Missy that's enough." I said as I got up. "I know you liked that." She said as she put her arms around my waist. Out of nowhere, the room got quiet. I looked around and my eyes finally locked with Riley's. She was standing there with Maya. Her eyes were big and teary, her jaw was dropped, and her face was pale. Maya looked red as a tomato, her nostrils were flaring and her hand formed into a fist. "Riley!" I said as I pushed Missy off of me. Riley began to walk towards me, "Riley I can-". I began to say before she interrupted me. "Shhh." She said as she got closer to me. I was beginning to feel more frightened than nervous. "Missy, get up." Riley snapped. Maya came up behind her. "What do you want?" Missy said as she got up. "What do I want? I want you to keep your dirty hands off of my boyfriend. That's what I want." She said. "Missy, if you haven't noticed, you lack this thing called respect." Maya said. Riley looked at her. "I got this." she said as she turned back to look at Missy.

"Oh you got this? Give it your best shot, because I know I could say one little word to you and you will just be running away like a little cry baby." She said. "Now see, that was the old me. The one who let every little word you said get to her, and she believed everything she saw and now all she sees is a desperate, wannabe, who lacks respect, morals and spends most of her time chasing guys that are already taken because she can't get a man of her own and you want to know why? Because you spend most of your time treating people like dirt, you rip people apart just to make yourself feel better. You think that everyone views you as a diamond. But most of us don't, besides trying to make people afraid of you. Try making people want to be around you without the fear that you are going to hurt them if they don't follow your orders. You're not a saint. I know that behind all of this little act, there's actually a decent human being in there. Now that was for everyone but for my boyfriend I'm coming after you personally, we have gone through this so many times, when are you ever going to get it through your head that Lucas and I are together. All the little encounters we have had I thought you would've backed off by now, but it's my fault for thinking that. If you want someone special in your life, then try changing the way you treat people and maybe, just maybe you will get to have that special someone in your life." she said.

Riley's POV:

Man that felt good. I thought to myself once I told Missy off. "Look at my little chump." Maya said proudly. Missy didn't say a word. She stood there and all I saw was pain in her face. Then guilt started to pour over me, Missy and I used to be best friends when we were younger, we all used to be. We were the three musketeers. But then middle school happened and she kicked me to the curb. She surrounded herself with "friends" who only hung out with her because of how wealthy she was. Missy took one last look at me and then she walked out of the room. The room remained silent and Lucas was staring at me like he had just seen a ghost. Then I looked over at Maya and she was smiling from ear to ear. "Let's go." I said as I dragged Maya out of the room. I look back at everyone once more, and they still remained in their spots, with their jaws dropped.

"That was amazing! I didn't know you had it in you, Matthews." Maya said excitedly. "Let's just go to the mall. I definitely need retail therapy now." I said as we walked to the parking lot.

"So what's the theme of prom?" Maya asked as we looked at different dresses. "Winter Wonderland I believe. I want to get either a silver, blue, or ivory white. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt to get a white dress. But if I love the dress, then the color won't matter." I said. "Well, you are pretty clumsy, so I don't think you should get a white dress. There is going to be a chocolate fountain you know." She said. "Yeah, never mind. White is out of the question." I said. As I looked through dresses, I found a creamed color ball gown dress, with a sweet heart neckline, beaded bodice and a tool skirt that flowed out along with it. It also had a tiny crystal belt wrapped around the waist. Which made it even more beautiful. I went to go try on the dress, while Maya still searched for hers. Once I came out, Maya was already sitting in one of the chairs, waiting for me. "Oh my god, Riley you look amazing in that dress!" she said. "I know I love it!" I said. "And so will Lucas." she said. "Well I found the perfect dress as well." Maya said as she held up a simple baby blue mermaid style dress, with a sweetheart neckline, and there was a beaded belt wrapped around the waist of it and it had a dramatic tool skirt at the bottom. "That is totally you." I said. We went to go pay for our dresses and left for Maya's afterwards.

"I hope I didn't freak Lucas out, I mean you should've seen his face when I let all of that out on Missy. I mean he usually doesn't mind when I do that. But I haven't heard from him and baseball practice ended like ten minutes ago." I said as I checked my phone again. "Does he have to text you right away?" Maya asked. "No, I'm being crazy. I mean he could be driving." I said. "Don't worry, he will text you or call you, or maybe he'll come over to see you." Maya said. "You're right. I should probably go though, it's almost time for dinner. Do you want to come over?" I asked as I got up. "Not tonight. I feel like painting." Maya said. I gave her a hug goodbye and drove back home.

When I got home, I found Lucas sitting on the couch in my living room. "Hey, what're you doing here?" I said as I walked over to him. "Just wanted to see you." he said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. My dad cleared his throat. "I'm right here." he said with a smile. "Is that your prom dress?" My mom asked. "Oh, I forgot I was holding it but yes it is. I'll show it to you later." I said as I took Lucas by the hand and took him upstairs. I put my dress away as soon as we stepped into my room, "So, I didn't scare you earlier, did I?" I said as I made my way over to the bay window. "Of course not, that was hot." He said as he came over and sat next to me. "You left me absolutely speechless. When you left, the guys were telling me how lucky I was to have you. Even though, I already know how lucky I am." He said as he started to kiss me. "No, no making out." I said as I pushed him off. "Why not?" he said. "I'm not in the mood. But anyways, my prom dress is a cream colored. So good luck!" I said. "It's not going to be that hard to find a cream colored tie, but I owe you an apology. I was going to go give you a kiss goodbye, but Bryan was dragging me to the lounge, and when I was about to text you, he took my phone away. I felt so bad because I didn't want you to feel like I stood you up. I would never do that. So I'm sorry." He said as he rested his forehead onto mine.

"It's okay, I know how Bryan can be and I'll admit I was thinking that you stood me up at first, I was angry so I was about to go over there and yell at you but then things didn't go according to plan." I said. "So what was wrong this morning?" he asked. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You didn't look to happy and when I asked you, you said you didn't want to talk about it. Do you still not want to talk about it?" he asked. "I don't know, I just found something and I'm still in a little shock, so I think I should talk about it when I start to adjust the situation." I said. "Riley, another way to help you adjust to a situation is by talking about it too. I know you don't want to talk about it, but I'm here for you, so will you please tell me what's going on?" he said as he gave me that puppy look. "Fine, the other night I was getting ready for bed and I found this small brown box in my closet and on the inside, it had a broche in the shape of a rose, along with a note." I said as I handed him the note. He began to read it carefully. "T?" He said. "Yeah, I mean it can't be my mom, because the note said they passed it onto my mom and now their passing it on to me. But wouldn't it make sense for it to be my mom? She was the last one to have it." I said. "It would make sense, have you asked her about it?" he asked. "No, I haven't. But I'm planning on it." I said. Lucas and I spent the rest of the evening brain storming on who T could be. We even looked through old photo albums, old yearbooks, and we made a timeline for ourselves. I knew that with him by my side, I will crack this once and for all.

 **In the next few chapters, Riley and Lucas do find out who T is, it's not Topanga. But they go on a hunt to find this person and it gets pretty interesting. Also, I know some of you are anxiously waiting for prom night because something big happens on that night, but it's not anything you're expecting. Also, I forgot to add Farkle's story on how he got into Harvard and I will add that in to the next chapter as well. So stay tuned for Chapter 14 xx**


	14. Chapter 14: Where It Leads Me

Chapter 14: Where It Leads Me

 **Author's Note: Farkle's story on how he got into Harvard is special to me, because his story is sort of similar to mines, and it's also similar to others as well. So some may be able to relate to his story. I wanted to try and write some of this like it is real life. So enjoy!**

Farkle's POV:

"Farkle! Brown is the only school we have been talking about since you were five! You're going to that school." My dad said. "But what if I don't want to go to Brown? What if I want to go somewhere else?" I said. "Excuse me? No, you shouldn't be thinking about other schools. Brown is the school you're going to. You are going to keep our family legacy by attending that school," he said. "You do know there's a chance of me not getting into that school right?" I said. "Oh no, you're getting into that school and I'll make sure of it," my dad said as he left. As much as I loved my family, they expected so much of me and because of my family name, I'm expected to become this or that, and go to this school and go for this major. I mean I do want to be a scientist but I don't want to go to Brown. It's not the school for me. But my family doesn't seem to accept the fact that I want to go to Harvard. I haven't even heard from them yet. But I'm hoping I do soon.

"Hey man!" Lucas said as he walked into my room. "Your dad let me in." he said as he made his way to the bean bag. "You love that bean bag." I said. "So what's up?" he said. "Nothing, just homework. My dad has been on my case about getting into Brown. I've been trying to tell him that I don't want to go to that school. But he won't have it. I really want to go to Harvard, but my dad has other plans for me." I said. "I'm sorry man. But if Harvard is your dream, then you should follow your dream. Don't let anyone stand in your way, prove your dad wrong. Show him that it doesn't matter what school you go to, you can still make your dreams come true." He said. "My family does support me but only when I'm doing the things they expect of me and when I don't do what they want me to do, they tell me how much of a disappointment I am. They tell me I'm going to be nobody." I said. "You're somebody. Farkle, don't let their words get to you, their just words, words don't mean anything. Don't let them tell you who can and can't be. You're the one that controls your life, your dreams. Your destiny, don't let them get to you." Lucas said.

"Thanks man, but if they end up kicking me out, can I crash with you until college starts?" I joked. "Of course." He said. All of a sudden my phone started to ring, it was Riley. "Aww, look your girlfriend is calling me." I said as I showed him the screen. He quickly got up and sat next to me on my bed,

 **Riley  
** Farkle

"Hey, Riles."

" **Hey, what're you doing?"**

"Nothing much, just hanging out with Lucas. What about you?"

" **Just taking a break from studying. Do you still have your key to writing book?"**

"Yes, do you need it?"

" **Yes! I have writers block right now and my English professor has been giving out so much work that my usual writing isn't going to cut it."**

"Okay, well do you want me to drop it off or are you going to come and pick it up?"

" **I'll pick it up, I'm about to head that way anyways, so I'll see you in ten."**

"Okay, see you soon."

After I hung up the phone, Lucas was staring at me like he was ready for me to spill. But I decided to torture him and kept quiet about it. "So are you hungry?" I asked. "No…" he said as he eyed me suspiciously. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes, I'm sure and stop avoiding it. Why did Riley call you?" he said. "Wow, you get jealous easily. You do know Riley and I only have a brother and sister relationship and also I would never do that to you." I said. "I know man, I'm sorry. I do get jealous easily but I can't help it. I don't like the thought of someone else making her happier than I could." He said. "I was going to torture you, but I changed my mind. She's just coming over to pick up a book, she's been having writers block and she said her usual isn't going to impress her professor." I said. "Oh, well I can certainly help her with that." He teased. "Calm down boy." I said. I heard the doorbell rang, and I went downstairs to go answer, while Lucas remained in my room. I opened the door to find Riley standing outside.

"Hey, come on in." I said as I moved out of the way. "Oh I can't, I just wanted to get the book and go because I have a lot of work to do." She said. "Oh, then just let me run upstairs to get the book. But come in, I don't want you to wait out here alone and I'm pretty sure Lucas would like to say hi." I said. "Oh he's still here? Aww now it's going to be even harder to leave." she said. Pretty soon Lucas came down the stairs, "I thought I heard your voice." He said as he walked over and gave her a hug and a kiss. "Yeah, I'm just here to pick up a book. Then I have to go back to typing." She said. "I'll be right back." I said as I ran back upstairs to go get the book. Thirty seconds later, I ran back downstairs and handed her the book. "Here you go," I said. "Thank you so much, I'll see you two later." She said as she left. "She's so pretty." Lucas said as he gushed over his girlfriend. I slapped him in the back of the head and walked back upstairs.

Riley's POV:

As I began to type, I couldn't seem to find the right words. The topic was about a moment in my life where I felt accomplished, it made me feel like I changed someone's life. But I couldn't seem to pick one moment. Then I opened my drawer, where I hid the brown box. I took out the letter again and skimmed through it. I knew it was time to talk to my mom about it, so I took the box and went downstairs. I found my mom sitting in the living room, drinking her coffee and watching TV. "Hey mom." I said as I sat down beside her. "Hey honey, how are you doing with the paper?" she asked. "I'm trying my best but I can't seem to choose a subject." I said. "Aww, honey. I'm pretty sure something will come to you." she said as she stroked my hair. "Actually, there's something I've been meaning to show you." I said as I handed her the box. Her eyes grew wide and she set her coffee down on the table. "What's this?" she said as she took it from me. "That's what I want to know, I found a note inside and the letter says from T." I said. My mom pulled the note out. "That woman is very sneaky." She said under her breath. "Who?" I asked. "Nobody." She said. "Mom…" I said.

"Oh alright, it's your aunt, Tharitea Thalamus. She is my long lost sister, I didn't even know I had another sister until your grandmother sat me down one day and told me all about her, she was put up for adoption when she was a baby because your grandmother thought that she was too young to raise a baby and she was. But she didn't think she could do it. Because everyone had an influence on her and it led her to that decision. I tracked her down for years and years and I finally found her. But she didn't want anything to do with me. She didn't want anything to do with the family that didn't want her. She thought we didn't love her. But we do, even though she may not be close to us, she's still apart of this family. I mean we hoped that one day, she would show up and forgive us. We gave her up to a wonderful family and now she's married, has four kids and she's a lawyer, just like me." she said. "How do you know that?" I asked. "Research and she had a ring on her finger when I saw her, a man came up and gave her a kiss, she had four kids running around her house, family portraits, and she told me what her profession was." She said. "I want to meet her." I said. "Oh, honey you can't. That is too dangerous, I can't let you do that." My mom said. "Why not? I'll have Lucas with me and you know how protective he is of me." I said. "Sweetie, this may seem like easy to you, but it is far more complicated than you think." She said. "Well, you can give me her address and I'll go over and talk to her, I want to know about this broche and how did she even get into my room." I said.

"And why did she have the broche?" I said. "Okay, the story behind the broche is very confusing. Your great, great grandmother gave it to your great grandmother, who gave it to your grandma, who gave it to your aunt, and when I went to go visit your aunt she gave it to me. But after having it for two months, I gave it back to her. I told her I couldn't take something like that from her. I wanted her to have a piece of this family. I wanted her to pass it on to her kids." She said. "But don't you want to pass this on for the generations to come? You could've passed it on to me and I would've passed it on to my children." I said. "I did want to keep it for you, when I went to go see her for the second time, she told me to keep it for you. I know it was very selfish of me but I wanted her to know that she is a part of the family, so I told her to keep it. Then when you were just a baby, we invited her over for dinner and surprisingly, she showed up after telling us she wanted nothing to do with us, I didn't know she had the broche with her. After all those years, of rearranging your room, my eye never caught the brown box. Otherwise, I would've took it and give it back to her." she said. "Mom, maybe me having this broche isn't such a bad idea. I mean she met the love of her life when she had it. Maybe it will be lucky for me. What's your deal with not wanting me to have it?" I said. "It's not that I don't want you to have it, I just thought that-". "You thought what, mom? You thought I wouldn't want to know about this? You thought that I wouldn't want to know about my aunt? Maybe I want to pass on the family legacy, maybe I want my kids to know about the generation before them, before me. I want to see her and I will." I said as I got up and stomped to my room. "Riley, you didn't let me finish!" my mom yelled after me.

I know I overreacted. But the thing I couldn't understand is why would she not want to pass it on to me? It seems like something she would do. I mean I understand she wanted Tharitea to have a piece of our family and pass it on to her kids. Maybe I'm the one being selfish here. But I really wanted to find her and hear her side of the story. Not being able to get this out of my mind, I walked into my parent's room, where I found my mom's files. I looked through to find if there was anything about this aunt of mine. Unable to find anything, I took everything I had and walked back downstairs to find my mom still on the couch. "Mom… I know I overreacted earlier, and I apologize. But I really want to meet her. So will you please let me? Lucas will be with me, and we'll come back safely." I pleaded. My mom sighed. "Alright, I'll give you her address but the neighborhood she lives in, isn't exactly safe. I mean she lives in a beautiful two story home, but I really want you two to be careful. She still lives in Philadelphia. So if anything happens, you guys will have your grandparents nearby. I want you to text me your every move." My mom said. "Thank you so much mom." I said as I gave her a hug. "Today is Friday, so we'll be back by Sunday." I said. I went back upstairs to call Lucas and tell him the news.

Farkle's POV:

When I got home from school, I realized that the atmosphere in my house had changed. There was tension building up as I walked up the stairs. Once I entered my room, I saw my dad sitting there with a big envelope in his hand. It was from Harvard. I was trying to hide my excitement but it was hard not to. "Dad, what're you doing in my room?" I said as I put my stuff down. "The better question is, why you got accepted into a school that isn't brown?" he asked. "Dad, I can explain." I said. "Oh you can? Farkle brown is the only school we've talked about. I can't believe you went behind my back and applied to other schools." He said. "Dad, I needed other options just in case Brown didn't accept me." I said. "They were going to accept you and they did." He said as he took out a big envelope from briefcase and threw on my bed. "I know you're going to choose the right school, and the right school is Brown." He said. "No it's not." I said. "What did you just say?" he asked. "I said Brown is not the school for me. Dad, you told me that you would support me with anything I decide to do. I don't see that right now. I haven't seen that at all actually. Harvard is the school I want to go to. I'm not going to let you take that away from me. I know you want me to carry on the Minkus legacy, but I want to be different. I want to create my own story." I said.

My dad stood there solid as a rock. I never seen anything look so lifeless. He finally found himself again and sat down on my bed. "Come here," he said. "Dad, ever since high school started, Brown is the only school we have talked about and I felt pressured. You made it impossible for me to tell you that I wanted to go to a different school." I said. "I didn't mean to pressure you." he said. "All my life, my dad talked non-stop about me going to Brown. I wanted to go to Princeton. But I didn't have the courage to tell him that. I didn't want you and I to have the same relationship, but look how that turned out. I'm sorry son." My dad said as he patted me on the back. "It's okay. But dad, I want you to be okay with me going to Harvard. It's going to make me happy." I said. "Well, if it makes you happy, then I won't stand in your way anymore." He said.

Riley's POV:

"Hey, there's my girl." Lucas said as he climbed through my window. "Hey, there's my man." I said as I walked over and planted one on him. "So, I want to ask you something." I said. He stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist, "Whatever it is, the answer is yes." He said. "Will you go to Philadelphia with me?" I asked. "Of course, what for?" he asked. "I found out who the broche is from, it's from my aunt. The story is complicated. Like really complicated but I want to meet her and I want you by my side. I wanted Maya to come along as well, but she's busy with college stuff." I said. "Then it shall just be the two of us." He said as he leaned in to give me another kiss. This time I felt his smile in between our kisses. "So, when do we leave?" he asked. "I was thinking tonight. Would your parents be okay with that?" I asked. "I'll just say I'm spending the night at Farkle's." he said. "So were doing this?" he asked. "Yes we are." I said.

 **Okay so I'm ending the chapter here. I know the story of the broche is confusing but it will soon become clear in the next chapter or so. Well I hope. But in the next chapter, Lucas and Riley make their way to Philli to find Riley's aunt and they come across some obstacles along the way. Also, prom night is coming up soon and someone makes a special appearance, but it's not who you think it is. Will this person ruin prom for Riley and Lucas? Will Riley's aunt even give her the time of day? The bigger question is, do they even make it out of Philadelphia? Stay tuned for Chapter 15!**


	15. Chapter 15: Surprise!

Chapter 15: Surprise!

Riley's POV:

We had been driving all night long, and I felt nervous the closer we got to Philadelphia. I wonder if she even knew about me. After hours of driving, we finally arrived at her home. This was it. But I couldn't seem to get myself to move. "Okay, were here." Lucas said as he turned off the engine of the car. "You nervous?" he asked as he took my hand and cuffed them into his. "Yes." I said. "It's going to be fine, I'll be by your side through it. Come on." He said as he unbuckled my seatbelt for me. "No, ten more seconds." I said. "Alright." He said as he kissed my hand. I took a deep breath. What if things didn't go as planned? What if she isn't even home? "Okay, let's go." I said. Lucas got out of the car and made his way over to my side and opened the door for me. "You're going to be fine." He said as he noticed I was still in the same position. I looked at him and nodded. He helped me out of the car and we walked up the front door. "Ready?" he said as he was about to press the doorbell. I nodded. He rang the doorbell and it seemed like hours were going by, it felt like we were standing out there forever. But a minute didn't even pass, I was in my head too much. Pretty soon a green eyed lady opened the door, she had long blonde hair, she was wearing a white collar shirt, with black slacks, and black flats. "Hi, can I help you?" she asked. All of a sudden I forgot how to speak, "Are you guys mimes?" she asked.

"H-hi, you may not know me. But I'm Riley. Riley Matthews." I said. Her face turned pale. She looked down to the ground and then back up to me. "Topanga's daughter?" she asked. "Yes, I am." I said. "And this is?" she said as she pointed to Lucas. "Oh this is my boyfriend, Lucas." I said. "How you doing?" he said as he shook her hand. "Come on in." she said. We walked into her living room and made ourselves comfortable on the couch. "Would you two like anything to drink?" she asked. "Some water would be nice." I said. She left to the kitchen to go get our drinks and of course I had all these thoughts in my head. Like what if she drugs us and then keeps us locked in her basement forever. But I had to shake it off because things were off to a good start so far. "Alright, here you are." She said as she put them down on the table. "Thank you." I said. "Alright, so what can I do for you?" she said. "A couple days ago, I was going through my closet and I found a small brown box." I said. "So you found the broche and the letter I wrote?" she asked. "Yes I did and I came all this 0way because I wanted to meet you. I was just a baby when you last came over and I also want to hear your side of the story." I said. "My side of the story?" she asked. "Yes." I said.

"There's nothing much to the story. Your grandma gave me up for adoption and I never forgave her because I believed that she didn't love me. I believe she gave me up because she was disgusted by me. Then your grandma came over one day, I was about 16 years old. She gave me the broche. At first, I didn't want to accept it. Why would I want something from someone who didn't care about me? But my mom, well the woman who adopted me persuaded me to keep it. So I did, then a year after that your mom came to me. She wanted me to be a part of the family, she wanted to make up for those lost years. I tried to do it. I tried to become a part of that family. But it was just too hard for me. I felt like an outsider and I am always going to feel like an outsider. So I gave the broche to your mom because she deserved it more than I did. I wanted her to pass it on to you, because it's not my place to have it. My kids have their own traditions and we have other stuff that we are going to pass on to them. But this broche, is something that I want you to keep." She said.

"How long did you spend time with our family?" I asked her. "For about a week or two. But then I said my goodbyes because I couldn't take it." she said. "Two weeks isn't enough. You can't make up for lost years in just two short weeks. It takes time to adjust to it. You gave up on us too quickly. I'm not forcing you to become a part of the family, you already are. But I want you to be there at events, parties, baby showers, weddings. Okay maybe it does sound like I'm forcing you. What I'm trying to say is, I want your kids to know about us and I want my kids to know about you. Come and spend time with us and as the days, months, and years go by. You will be comfortable around us. Don't shut us out completely, because you never know when you're going to need us." I said. My aunt sat there in silence, she was messing around with her watch, and finally she spoke up. "Okay, but I want you to keep the broche." She said. "I will." I said. "And I hope one day you'll be able to forgive your mom. She only did what she thought was best and look how everything turned out." I said. "Yeah that's true." She said with a smile. "My kids are going to be home in about twenty minutes. Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" she asked.

"Should we?" I asked Lucas. "We can. It would be a great opportunity to meet your half cousins or your cousins. I don't remember how it is." He said. "We would love to." I said to my aunt. Twenty minutes had passed and her kids came through the door and stopped right when they saw us. The shortest one had small curly brown hair, green eyes, and she was little chubby, but very adorable. Next, there was a boy standing next to her, who looked about 5 ft. He had blonde hair, brown eyes and freckles on his face. He looked very lean. Last but not least, we had the oldest ones. The teenagers. The oldest daughter looked about 5'4, she had light brown hair, with blue eyes, and she was very curvy. The oldest son had dirty blonde hair with green eyes, he looked very fit for his age. "Mom, who are they?" the oldest daughter asked. "Heather, be nice. This is your cousin Riley and her boyfriend Lucas." my aunt said. "Hi, I'm Riley." I said as I walked over to her and stuck out my hand. After realizing she wasn't going to shake it, I put it down. "Hi, I'm Jamie." the little girl said as she walked over and hugged me. "Hi, it's nice to meet you, Jamie." I said.

"This is Jacob, he's 7." My aunt said as she introduced me to him. "And you already met Heather, who is 16. This is Matthew, he's 18." She said as she turned me to face him. "Hi." He said with a smile. Lucas quickly walked over to me. "And I'm Lucas." he said as he gave Matthew a firm handshake. Jealousy at its finest, but I don't know what he was so worried about, we were family. "It's nice to meet you guys." I said, "Well, hi I'm Heather." She said as she walked over to Lucas. "Hi, nice to meet you." he said. "So how come we've never heard of you?" Heather asked. "Heather!" my aunt snapped. "I'll explain this all later, everyone go upstairs and freshen up for dinner. Go now." she said. They obeyed and went upstairs. "I'm sorry about that, ever since she hit her teenage years, she's been a pain." My aunt said.

"Well, this is pretty interesting so far." Lucas said. "Hey, are you okay?" he said. I began to feel weak, and all of a sudden I was losing sight of everything. Pretty soon all I saw was black.

Lucas's POV:

"Riley!" I yelled as I caught her fall. "Riley, baby!" I said as I looked for a pulse. My whole world started to crumble all around me. Tharitea came running into the room. "Oh my god, what happened?" she said as she saw Riley on the ground. "I don't know she just collapsed! Call an ambulance!" I yelled. "So if she's dead, does this mean I can have you?" Heather asked from the staircase. I gave her a look. Riley's aunt had called the ambulance and they were on their way. I kept Riley as close to me as possible. "Come on, wake up. I can't lose you. Not now." I said as I kissed her forehead. "Riley!" I yelled again. Tears started to fall down my cheeks and I was scared that I lost her in that moment.

Minutes had passed and the ambulance had finally arrived. I didn't want to let go of her but they took her from me and put her up on the gurney. I wasn't able to ride in the ambulance with her, but I followed them with my truck. It was hard for me to concentrate while driving because my eyes were beginning to fill up with tears again, once we got to the hospital I followed the paramedics into the ER and I called Riley's grandparents. I couldn't even think straight or talk right, I was all over the place. Ten minutes later Riley's grandparents and Josh had arrived. "What happened?" Alan asked as he walked over to me. "I don't know. We were at Tharitea's and she just collapsed. I couldn't even find a pulse." I said. Amy pulled me into a hug. "It's alright son. She's going to be fine. But I have to call Cory and tell him what's going on." She said. Josh came over and gave me a hug. "Is it just you?" he asked. All of a sudden Tharitea popped up, Alan looked like he had just seen a ghost. "What did you do my granddaughter?" he asked. "Alan. I don't think she had anything to do with it! Don't go pointing fingers just yet." Amy said as she held him back.

"How is she?" she asked as she made her way over to me. "We don't know yet. They just took her into the room." I said. "I hope she's okay." She said as she rubbed my back. We all went and sat down but we are filled with anticipation. Cory was texted me to make sure I was okay and to keep him updated on how Riley was. It surprised me because he would usually yell at me. After an hour, the doctor had come into the room. "Can have the family for Riley Matthews?" he called out. We all stood up. "You guys are all family?" he asked. "Were her grandparents." Amy said. "And the rest of you?" he asked. "I'm her boyfriend." I said. "I'm her aunt." Tharitea said. "I'm her uncle." Josh said. "You two are married?" the doctor asked Josh and Tharitea. "Oh no, this is my sister." Josh said. I saw Tharitea's face lit up. "Oh I'm sorry that was unprofessional of me." he said. "So what's wrong with Riley?" Alan asked. "She is conscious right now, we were able to find a pulse. But she hasn't opened her eyes, or said a word yet. We ran some tests on her and we found some sort of chemical in her body and it formed a lump in her chest. Now it could be nothing. But were going to run a few more tests just to be safe." The doctor said. Right when the doctor said they found something wrong with her, I felt like I would collapse at any minute. I couldn't lose her because then I wouldn't be able to live knowing that she won't be here with me.

 **Not my best but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know I keep bringing up prom but you have one more chapter to go until prom night! Do you think Tharitea had something to do with Riley's collapse? Or do you think it could've been the lump? Chapter 16 and 17 is are on their way! xx**


	16. Chapter 16:The End Of It All

Chapter 16: The End of It All

 **Author's note: So I apologize for the mistakes in the last chapter. I was thinking of Topanga's parents/ But Tharitea is Topanga's sister. Topanga is Josh's sister in law and so he wouldn't really have a relation to Tharitea. I'm sorry I'm working on noticing these errors. It might be a little confusing towards the end. MAJOR WRITERS BLOCK. But please enjoy! Also, sorry for making this chapter a little too long!**

Lucas's POV:

I couldn't stop pacing back and forth in the waiting room. I just wanted to see Riley. I had called Maya and Farkle and told them about Riley. But they weren't able to come, so I had to keep them updated as well. It felt like everything that seemed so right, seemed so wrong at this moment. I could lose my girlfriend, the Matthew's could lose a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin. Maya and Farkle could lose their best friend. My head was spinning and I ended up passing out for a minute there. "Lucas!" I heard someone yell as I came back through. "You alright man?" Josh asked as he caught my fall. "No, I feel so numb. My head was spinning and look where that lead." I said. "Riley is going to be okay, she's still here. Maybe not the way we want her to be right now, but she's going to be okay." Josh said. "I'm not the best at these type of things, but if you need someone to listen. I'm here." Josh said. "Thanks man," I said.

Hours had passed by and we still didn't get any updates. We weren't even allowed to see her yet. "Lucas, you poor thing. Sit down for a little bit." Amy said. "I can't. I can't stay still." I said. Amy got up and pulled me into a hug. "Amy and Alan Matthews?" the doctor called out. "Yes?" they said as they walked up to the doctor. I couldn't hear what the doctor was saying, but from what I saw it didn't look too good. Amy covered her mouth, and Alan had put his arm around her waist. They didn't look too happy. I saw their eyes start to tear up but then Amy put her hand on her heart and she sighed. Was it a sigh of relief?

Topanga's POV:

"WHAT?!" I yelled as I was on the phone with Amy. My daughter! I knew it was too dangerous to let her go to Philadelphia without me. My baby girl. I knew that Cory would freak out the most when I tell him. "What happened to my daughter?! Let me talk to Lucas!" I yelled. "Hey, Topanga…" Lucas said. "EXPLAIN!" I yelled. "We were at your sisters, we were getting ready for dinner and then she turned and looked at me her face as pale as a snowflake, her eyes big and she collapsed. I tried to find a pulse but I couldn't, then I tried to give her mouth to mouth but that didn't work either and I don't know. This is all my fault." Lucas said. "No, it's not your fault. You had nothing to do with it… Did you?" I asked. "No, I'll give you a timeline. Tharitea gave us some water, we talked, we met her kids and then ten minutes later, she collapsed." He said. "As much as I don't want to point fingers here, and I don't want to believe that my sister would do this. But there could be a possibility that she poisoned her." I said. "Well, they did find a chemical in her body and it formed a lump in her chest." Lucas said. Right when those words slipped out of his mouth, I dropped my phone, I couldn't speak. My body fell weak. My daughter, my only daughter.

I had to get to Philadelphia, but I had to go fight for someone else's rights. But it was my daughter. I called the courthouse to see if they could reschedule but unfortunately they said they couldn't. So after court, I was going to drive to Philadelphia and I almost forgot to tell Cory. As soon as I thought that, he came through the door. "Honey, I'm home!" he said as he walked up to the kitchen and planted a kiss on my cheek. "You don't look so good." He observed. "Riley." I managed to get out. I felt my throat start to close and my eyes start to water. Cory's face turned serious. "What happened to Riley?" he asked. "She collapsed. They found a chemical in her body and Lucas told me that it formed a lump in her chest and I think my sister may have had something to do with it." I said as I started to sob. Cory stood there in shock. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arm around me. "WAIT WHAT?!" He yelled as he let go of me. "Did you not hear what I just said?" I asked. "Yes I did, but now it all sunk in. Friar is a dead man!" he yelled. "Cory, he didn't have anything to do with it. He's at the hospital with her, he called your parents. They are there with him along with Josh and my sister. But my sister gave Riley something to drink before she collapsed. So it's pretty obvious she did it." I said. "I have to go see her!" Cory said as he bolted for the door. "I'll meet you guys after court, take Auggie with you." I said.

Cory's POV:

How could Topanga's sister do this? I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions but how? I texted Lucas to give me updates on Riley. I can't believe something like this happened to my little girl. I knew Lucas did the right thing, I mean what more could he have done to protect her. I got into my car and as I was driving I immediately forgot about Auggie. I made a quick U-turn and drove to the school. "What's going on, dad?" he asked as he walked into the office. "We have to go to Philadelphia. Family emergency." I said. "What happened?" he asked. "I'll tell you in the car." I said. Once I finished signing him out, we walked out the school and got into the car. "Alright, so what's going on?" he asked. "Your sister collapsed and they found a lump in her chest. We need to go see her." I said as I drove out of the parking lot. "Dad, slow down." He said. "I'm sorry, I just can't concentrate." I said. "I want to feel safe not scared. I would volunteer to drive but I'm only 11." He said, "Don't worry. You're safe with me." I said.

Lucas's POV:

"Okay, so Riley is in her room now and you guys can see her." the doctor said. I quickly stood up but then I didn't want to seem eager, so I let her grandparents go first. "I saw that." Josh teased. After about 45 minutes, everyone had their turn to see her. "Lucas, she's awake." Amy said. A huge smile spread across my face and I gave her a hug before I went in to see Riley. I opened the door, and there laying the hospital bed was my beautiful girlfriend. "Hi…" she said. "Hi!" I said with chuckle. I walked over to her bed and gave her a hug. "How are you feeling?" I said as I sat on her bed. "I feel alright. I'm sorry I scared you like that." She said. "You don't need to apologize." I said as I leaned in to give her a kiss. "Do my parents know?" she asked. "Yes, I have to keep them updated but your dad called me and told me he was on his way with Auggie and your mom is going to come after court." I said. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Relieved. Well sort of. The doctor still hasn't told us what's in your chest. But I'm glad you're awake now. You really scared me. I thought I was going to lose you." I said.

"Oh, baby. You're never going to lose me!" she said as she held my hand. "You don't know that. What if this thing shortens your life, what if this thing kills you? I can't lose you, Riley. If I lose you this time, I won't be able to get you back." I said as I started to choke up. "Hey, babe. Don't cry." She said as she sat up and cuffed her hands on my face. "I'm still here. This could be nothing. So don't think the worse just yet." she said. "But the fear of it Riley, the fear of losing you." I said. "We both have a fear of not losing each other don't we?" she said as she ran her fingers down through my hair. I rested my forehead onto her head and stared into her eyes. "What have you done to me, Matthews?" I teased. She gave me a warm smile. "So much for adventure huh." She said. "I honestly don't care as long as I'm with you, baby girl." I said. "My little girl!" Mr. Matthews yelled as he ran into the room. "I should leave you two alone." I said as I got up. "Oh no, you stay." He demanded. Not knowing if I should've sit back down or not, I just stood there awkwardly.

Cory's POV:

I gave Lucas a weird look as he stood there awkwardly, standing in front of Riley. "You are a strange little boy." I said. "Yup, I can't help myself." He said as he swung his hands back and forth. "Do you mind?" I asked as I gestured him to move. He took a step to the side and joined Auggie by the door. "Riley." I said as I walked over to the bed and gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." I said. "I'll always be okay, dad." She said. "Lucas, come here." I said. Lucas started walking towards me nervously. "Yeah, you better be nervous." I scowled. "Dad! He had nothing to do with it." Riley said. "You're right, I know I'm sorry. Lucas, Topanga told me what happened. But I want to hear it from you." I said. "Why?" he asked. "Because you were there for every movement." I said. "Well, on the drive there we made a few rest stops and then we arrived at Tharitea's house. We walked up to her door, rang her doorbell. She answered and asked us who we were, she let us come in, we made our way to the living room and she asked us if we wanted anything to drink. Riley said water so she gave us both water, after talking to her for an hour, her kids came home from school and she introduced us. I think her oldest daughter may have a creepy crush on me. Anyways, ten minutes after we met them, Tharitea was getting ready for dinner and Riley and I were about to go to the kitchen, when she turned pale and her eyes fell back into her head and she collapsed. I yelled for Topanga's sister and she called the ambulance. I followed them with my truck, we got here and I called for your parents and your brother. They arrived along with Tharitea. The doctor-." Before he could finish I interrupted, "Okay, breathe son. I'll just wait for the doctor." I said.

"But you didn't let me tell you what was wrong with her." he said. "Well, Topanga already told me. I wanted to hear it from you but then I changed my mind." I said. "I'm sorry, sir." He said. "You must be the father? I'm assuming." The doctor said as he walked into the room. "Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you." I said. "Well, the test results are in and…"

 _ **To be continued…**_

 **Chapter 17 is prom! I feel like I have kept you guys waiting long enough. But as prom night approaches, someone decides to pay Riley a visit before she even gets to walk out the door. But who could it be? Anyways, I tried my best with this chapter, it was a little confusing and kind of hard to write. But hopefully you guys enjoyed it.**


	17. Chapter 17: No Surprise There

Chapter 17: No Surprise There

 **i'm sorry for the late upate! i have been super busy and i thought i had already uploaded this chapter! But enjoy! There's a three part ending coming soon. So stay tuned my lovely people! xx**

Riley's POV:

"You have nothing to worry about. You're going to be fine. We will give you some medication for the lump and it should disappear within a few weeks." The doctor said. "But what about the chemical? How did that get into my body?" she asked. "Well, the tests show that there was a pill in the drink, it was a codeine. It's rare for someone to have an allergic reaction to it. So we stuck an allergy medicine into your body while you were out.

Tharitea's POV:

The time I see my niece, for the first time in a long time, I end up poisoning her. I should've remembered which drink I put my medicine in. Otherwise, this would have never happened. But I don't think they will believe me in this situation. I'm the one everyone is pointing the finger at. "How could you do this to Riley?" Alan asked. "Believe me, this was just an accident. Why would I do this to my niece? I have four kids, do you think poisoning my niece is an example I want to show them?" I said. "Well how on earth did a pill get into the water?" he asked. "That was for me. Because seeing her today made me feel overwhelmed. It was giving me a headache." I said. "Well, next time remember which cup you put it in, because if I lose my granddaughter. You lose a life." Alan said. "ALAN!" Amy yelled as she walked over to us. "Don't talk to her like that. I understand that you're protective of Riley and so am I, but don't threaten the poor girl's life. You're making her feel worse than she already does." Amy said. "She almost killed our granddaughter." Alan said. "She's human. Humans make mistakes." Amy said. "Why are you on her side?" Alan asked. "Because I've been in her shoes before, and the way you're acting isn't helping at all." Amy said. After the whole situation with Alan, I went to the room to go see Riley and I seemed to have walked in at the right time.

"But I didn't even know the pill is in my drink." Riley said. "Someone can crack the pill and put the powder in there." he said. "I can explain." I said as I entered the room. "Oh please do." Lucas said as he crossed his arms. "That was actually supposed to be for me. Seeing you and how much you've grown made me feel a little overwhelmed. It made my head hurt so I took the pill and dropped it into my drink. I thought I had given you the cup without the pill in it. But I promise you I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Considering the fact that I wouldn't want my kids to think that poisoning someone is okay. It's not. So I truly am sorry for what I did. I should've been more careful." I said. Riley looked me at for a moment, then she gave me a soft smile. "I forgive you." she said. "I don't!" Cory yelled. "Cory, I'm telling the truth." I said. "How can we be so sure?" Lucas said. "You're just going to have to take my word for it." I said. "Not good enough. Is it possible to investigate this? Like question her or give her a lie detector test?" Cory asked. "That wouldn't be necessary dad. I believe her." Riley said. "Riley!" Cory said, "Dad. Just trust me on this." she said. He sighed. "Fine." He said. "No, Riley. What if she is lying? But you can't see it." Lucas said. "Lucas, I see the good in people. I know when someone is innocent and when someone is guilty. My aunt is innocent." Riley said.

Riley's POV:

"But how do you even know she's innocent without questioning." Lucas said. "I just do. I may not have known about this women my whole life. But I know she didn't mean for any of this to happen." I said. "You only see the good in people, Riley." My dad said. "Who do you think I get it from?" I asked. "Riley, it's good that you see the good in people but sometimes it can fool you." Lucas said. "My mom is a lawyer, I've learned a few things from her. My aunt is innocent." I argued back. "She's a lawyer as well, she could be playing you like a fool." Lucas said back. "You do know I'm still here right?" Tharitea said. I looked over at her and the doctor standing there awkwardly. "I'm sorry about this." I said. "It's okay. But I'll come back with your medication and I'll write you a prescription." The doctor said as he left. "Tharitea, I know you're innocent. So don't feel guilty over this." I said. "Thank you, Riley. I think I should head back home now. This day has been weird but you are more than welcome to come back and visit. Also, I hope you feel better as well, let me know if anything comes up." She said. "I will." I said. We said our goodbyes and she left the hospital. I knew my dad was really frustrated with me at this point, but instead of yelling at me he walked out the room to get air. Lucas remained in his spot, with his arms crossed.

"Lucas, talk to me." I said. "Riley, I love you. I realized I got a little over protective for a moment. But that's only because I want you to be safe. Just like everyone else. I know you see the good in people, and I believe you when you say your aunt is innocent but sometimes that belief isn't always right. You can be so blinded by someone that you don't see the truth." He said. "Even with someone you're very close to, like for example, Maya. You two are extremely close that if you think you've realized a secret about her, you might be blinded by it and think that it's the actual truth when it's not." He said. "Your aunt is innocent, but if they question her and she confesses to it. Then that belief you had of her will disappear. It will make you angry, confused and you will keep thinking about how you spent all that time believing that she was innocent. When she wasn't." Lucas said. "You do have a point." I said.

*Two weeks later*

Riley's POV:

Things have seemed to finally calm down after the whole incident in Philadelphia. But I quickly got my mind off of that and focused on prom. It felt so weird. I was attending Columbia but at the same time I was attending prom this weekend. I didn't have class until 10am today, so I decided to follow through with Lucas and I's tradition. So I drove to John Adams to go give him a kiss before class started. It was cheesy. But that was just the type of couple we were. I was waiting for him in front of the school. It seemed like hours were going by. But it had only been a minute. Pretty soon, I saw him pull up in his truck. I watched him as he got out. He wasn't even expecting me today because I usually waited for him when I didn't have early morning classes. He looked so handsome in his blue and black plaid shirt, black pants of course his black Nike shoes. "Hey, Friar!" I yelled as he got closer to the steps of the school. He looked up from his phone, and his entire face lit up. He ran up to me and picked me up. "Here's my favorite girl!" he said as he kissed me. "What're you doing here?" he said as he put me down but kept his arms around my waist. "Just wanted to see you before class starts," I said.

"Aww, well I'm glad you're here. How long do you have?" he asked. "I have about two hours and you have about 15 minutes." I said. "I know. I wish you still attended this school. It's not the same without you." he said. "I know I'm sorry. But you still get to see me and also prom is coming up." I said. "I can't wait for prom night. I'll be with the most beautiful girl in the world." He said. "And who may that be?" I teased. "Megan fox, yeah we're in a very serious relationship." He joked. "Oh okay, well then I should probably go before she catches us." I said. "Nah, I think were good." He said as he leaned back down for a kiss. "Riley!" I heard Maya yell. We both looked up and Maya and Farkle were walking up the steps of the school. "Maya!" I yelled as I walked over and gave her a hug. "What're you doing here?" she asked. "Just visiting before class starts." I said. "Oh right, I forgot you're a college student now." Maya teased. "Hey, you know I'm still the same me." I teased back. "Anyways, bakery at 3?" Maya asked. "Are we meeting there?' I asked. "My car is in the shop right now. I'll come over and we can walk there. Just like old times." She said. "It's a date." I said. "Hey." Lucas said. "I'm sorry you're girlfriend prefers me over you." Maya joked. "Okay, let's get to class." Farkle said. I said my goodbyes and was about to leave when Lucas ran back and hugged me from behind. "I love you." he said as he gave me a quick peck on the cheek and ran back inside the school.

I got back into my car and drove off to Columbia. I spent most of the time sitting in my car, listening to music. I didn't know what else to do. Finally, the time had flew by fast and it was already 9:30. I got out of my car and grabbed my books and my bag. "Matthews!" I heard someone yell. I turned around to find Michael running up to me. "How's it going?' he said as he caught up to me. "It's going good, ready for class today?" I asked. "Not one bit." I said. "So any plans this weekend?" he asked. I gave him a look. "My intentions are harmless." He said as he put his hands up. "I'm actually going to prom." I said. "Prom?" he asked. "Yes, I had to graduate early. The same as you. I didn't want to miss my senior prom. No way." I said. "Well, I already know you're going to look absolutely beautiful." he said.

After all of my classes, I drove home and changed. Ten minutes later, Maya had climbed through my window. "Honey!" she said. "Peaches!" I said. "Ready to go?" she asked. "Yes I am!" I said as we climbed through the window. As we walked down to the bakery, there was just something that couldn't stop bothering me. "So, how was school?" I asked. "School? It was boring. What about you?" she said. "It was okay, but I feel like somethings off about Michael." I said. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well he's sort of one of the few friends I have in that program and lately, he's been acting a little weird around me." I said. "You're not going to act on this, are you? Please tell me you're not going to act on this." Maya begged. "Of course not, I love Lucas. I've always loved him." I said. "If Michael has feelings for you, I wouldn't be surprised. It's impossible for someone to not like you." She said.

Lucas's POV:

"Farkle, we have a problem." I said as we walked into his living room. "What is it?" he asked. "Prom." I said. "You are ditching Riley!" he yelled. "No! Of course not! I just realized I'm going to have to dance. I don't want Riley to think of us as the couple that just sits and watches everyone around us have a good time. I want us to be the couple that's having a good time." I said. "So dance." He said. "Aha, I don't know how to dance. Literally. I mean slow dancing. I'm good at that. But if it's a fast song I can't do that." I said. "Just go with the beat, feel the rhythm beneath your feet." He said. "Alright, I'll give you the basics." He said as he turned on some music. "What're you doing?" I asked. "I'm going to teach you how to dance, Friar." He said. "Right now?" I asked. "Yes, yes I am." He said proudly. "By the end of this week, I will have you dancing like a pro. Or maybe just like an average person." He said. He started doing different steps and started doing weird thing with his hand. "What do you call this?" I asked. "The sprinkler." He said. "Alright, another trick is that if you are a terrible dancer. You just have to give good facial expressions." He said. "Now see, I'm doing all of these moves and the only thing you're looking at is my face." he sang.

Riley's POV:

"Aha, remember the time when we got stuck in the pool house?" I said. "Oh my god. You were so scared." Maya said as she threw her head back laughing. "I thought we were going to be stuck in there for the rest of our lives." I said. "We were six. Of course you thought that." Maya said. "Funny running into you here." I heard someone say. Uh oh. "Hey, Michael." I said as he grabbed a chair and sat with us. "Michael?" Maya said with suspicion. "Oh, this is my best friend Maya, Maya this is my friend Maya." I said as I introduced the two. "Very nice to meet you." he said. "Likewise." She said. "Anyways, what's going on? I didn't interrupt anything did I?" he asked, "Nope, just girl talk." Maya said. "So, I was about to get a chocolate cake, want to share?" he asked, "I'm fine." I said awkwardly. "I'm sorry I forgot you had a boyfriend, but I'll be right back." He said. "Wow." Maya said as he walked up to the counter. "He is a babe. Can I have him?" she asked. "Please do." I said.

"Wow. He has the most beautiful eyes. Why couldn't he be my prom date?" She said. "He's coming back, shush." I said. "Alright now tell me, how good it is on a scale of 1-10?" he asked as he aimed a piece of cake at me. I looked over at Maya and her eyes were big. She gave me the "Uh oh." Look. "What's going on here?" I heard someone say. "Lucas! Farkle! So glad you guys can join us." Maya said. "Okay, and I ask again. What's going on here? Riley?" he asked. "Nothing. We just ran into Michael and were just hanging out." I said. Lucas took a seat next to me. "Oh, so you're Michael? Lucas." he said as he stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, the boyfriend I assume?" he asked. "Yes." He said. The atmosphere went from awkward to absolutely uncomfortable. Lucas got jealous the entire time we were hanging out with Michael. I secretly loved it. "So, Michael. You seeing anybody special?" Maya asked. "No, not yet." he said as he looked at me. Lucas quickly put his arm back around me. "Interesting." Maya said. "Maya." Farkle said as he shook his head.

"Well, you'll find your special someone someday man. It's hard to find someone decent around here." Lucas said. I gave him a soft smile. I just wanted this awkward moment to be over. "So, Riley shouldn't we be heading out? Don't we have that thing?" Maya asked. My hero. "Yes, we do. We should get going." I said as I quickly got up and we ran out the door. "Okay, I am so sorry but that was so awkward." Maya said. "Tell me about it. You don't think their killing each other now do you?" I said. "Probably. I'll text Farkle." She said. "Lucas looked like he wanted to kill Michael for staring at you." she said. "I know I felt his body tense up. It was kind of hot." I said. "Okay, I never want to hear Lucas and the word hot in one sentence." Maya said in disgust. I gave her a light push. "Now I see what you mean, Michael is totally intrigued by you." she said. "That worries me. I mean I don't want to ruin the good friendship that we have. Like I said before, he's one of the only few friends that I have made at Columbia. I know that my education is more important but I'm just- I don't know." I said. "Well you know what, prom is this weekend. We're going to have the time of our lives." Maya said.

Lucas's POV:

"What was that in there?" Farkle asked. "What was what?" I said. "That whole thing with you and Michael. After Riley and Maya left it's like you guys were about to rip each other's heads off." He said. "He was making love bird eyes at Riley. Every time he brought up the topic about finding that special someone, he kept looking at Riley." I said. "It didn't look like it to me." he said. "Are you kidding me? He was basically trying to get her to get the hint that he likes her." I said. "Okay, I'll admit I did get a weird vibe from him." Farkle said. "Exactly." I said. "He's up to something. I just have to figure out what." I said. "Just don't go too crazy. You don't want to plot a scheme and have it unfold badly in front of you." he said.

*Few days later*

Riley's POV:

This is it! Tonight was officially prom night and I couldn't have been more excited! I had the most beautiful dress and the most beautiful date. Maya and I were headed to Pomp to get our hair and makeup done. "I'm so happy it's finally prom night." I said as I twirled around the street. "Okay, let's make sure keep you in one piece for tonight." Maya said. "I'm sorry." I said. We walked inside the salon and signed in for our appointments. "So, do you think anything crazy is going to happen tonight?" Maya asked. "Why would you ask that?" I asked. "Because something always happens before we go to a big event." She said. "You're right. Hopefully nothing bad happens." I said. After our appointments, we went to go get our nails done and headed back to my house. Finally, it was time to put on our dresses and heels. Once I slipped on my dress, I felt amazing. I had my hair in curly teased bun, and my makeup was very light and fresh. Maya's hair was curled, with her bangs pulled back and she also had very light makeup on. "You girls look amazing." My mom said as she stood by my door. "Thanks mom." I said as I walked over to the door.

We all walked downstairs and took a picture and waited to take the rest when the guys arrived. Finally, the doorbell had rang. My dad walked over to the door and opened it, but it wasn't who we expected it to be. "Michael?" I said. He walked in very nervously and my dad eyed him. "What're you doing here?" I asked. "Wow, you look beautiful." he said. "Thank you, now back to my question." I said. "I need to talk to you." he said. "Now?" we all said together. "Yeah, I know this is really bad timing but I really need to talk to you." he said. I looked at Maya and she shrugged. "You have five minutes." I said as I headed to the living room window. "I kind of want to talk to you in private." He said. "This is as private as it's going to get." I said. "Okay." He said as he sat down next to me. Maya and my parents went into the kitchen. "So what's going on?" I asked. "I know you're about to go to your prom. But the other day when we were talking about finding someone special… I feel like I already found the special person." He said. "Aww, who?" I said. "You." he said. "What?" I said. "Riley, I really like you. I know you're with Lucas and that I don't even have a chance. But I just wanted to tell you so that I can move on." He said. "Unless you feel the same way." He said. "I don't. Michael, you're one of the few friends I have at Columbia. I don't want to ruin the friendship we have. I'm sorry." I said. "I'm sorry too." He said. "So am I." we heard someone say. We both looked up and we saw Lucas standing there, with his hand formed into a fist and his face was red as a tomato.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	18. Chapter : The Big Night

Chapter 18: The Confrontation and the Big Night

Riley's POV:

"Lucas!" I said as I got up. His face suddenly fell and his eyes lit up. "Wow." He said breathlessly. "I'm sorry I already ruined prom." I said as I walked up to him. He looked at me and he couldn't even speak. "You didn't. You have nothing to apologize for." He said. "However, you do." he said as he walked up to Michael. "But I didn't do anything." He said. "Are you kidding me? You told my girlfriend how you felt about her. On prom night," he said. "I only told her so that I could move on." He said. "You had to tell her on a big night? Do you know how that even makes her feel? Do you know how that makes me feel? She's in a relationship. You don't do that." Lucas snapped. "Riley." Michael said as he walked closer to me. "Don't even try to take another step!" Lucas said. "What're you going to do about it?" Michael said. "What am I going to do?" Lucas snarled as he took one step towards Michael. "Lucas don't." I said as I held him back. He took one look at Michael and then back at me. "Fine." He said as he took a deep breath. "Michael, this wasn't the right time come here and tell me this. It is my prom night." I said. "You're right. We should talk about this another time." he said. "There's nothing to talk about. You told me what you needed to tell me so that you could move on. I told you I didn't feel the same way. There's nothing to talk about anymore." I said. "You're right. See you in class." Michael said as he headed for the door.

"No!" Lucas yelled. "Riley, I'm sorry. But Michael, you can't just come in here and tell her how you feel and then leave." He said. "Lucas, she doesn't feel the same way. There's nothing left to talk about. I don't want to ruin your guy's night as much as I already have." He said. "Lucas, just let it go for now." I said. "But Riley, shouldn't we handle this?" He said, "We've already established the main purpose of this. We can talk about this another time. It is prom night." I said. "He told you he has feelings for you. On a special night. That's not right!" Lucas said. "Huckleberry, calm down. She doesn't have feelings for him." Maya said. "Yeah, nothing like hearing that a million times." Michael said as he walked out of the door.

After Michael left, Lucas and I continued to talk about this. "Riley, I'm sorry. It's just we started off as friends too." He said. "Lucas, you're the only guy I have eyes for. You know that. No one is going to take me away from you." I said. "Come here beautiful." Lucas said as he tried to give me a kiss. My dad cleared his throat, "I'm sorry sir." Lucas said. "Sure you are. Now onto the pictures." He said. We all posed for pictures, we took group pictures and then we took pictures where it was just me and Lucas. "You look so beautiful babe." Lucas said as he held onto me. "You look handsome," I said as I adjusted his tie, "Alright! Let's do this!" Farkle said. "I'm glad you went with a simple tux instead of the cheetah one." Maya said as we walked out. Lucas put his arm around my waist as we walked out the door. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked. "I am now. I'm going to prom with the people I love." I said. "All eyes are going to be on you when we walk through those doors." He said. We all got into the limo and headed off to prom. "I can't believe this is our last prom." Farkle said. "It's so crazy. We're going to be graduating in a month guys." Maya said. "Well, you technically already graduated Riles." Maya said with a smile. "Will you stop saying that? Tonight I am a high school senior." I said. "Of course you are, honey." Maya said.

Lucas's POV:

I hope they didn't noticed how quiet I was being. Riley left me absolutely speechless. I just couldn't find any words to say. It's just like the time when she fell onto my lap on the subway, I was lost for words. Finally, we had arrived at the school and the doorman opened the door for us. "After you my lady," I said as I helped Riley out of the car and we linked arms together. "Did I mention how beautiful you looked tonight?" I said. "Many times." She said as she rested her head on my arm. Once we got inside, I spun her onto the dance floor and we started to dance to the beat. "You're dancing?" she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "Just for you." I said as I leaned down to kiss her. "Finally." I said as we let go. "I told you all eyes were going to be on you." I said. She gave me that cute little smile of her. "You're adorable." I said. "Stop it. That's enough with the compliments." She teased. "Nope. I get to shower you with compliments as much as I want." I said "We'll see about that." She said as I twirled her around.

Farkle's POV:

"Look at Riley and Lucas, their so in love. It's like they're the only two on the dance floor." I said as I watched them dance. "Yeah, I hope I find a love like theirs one day." Maya said. "Sometimes I wonder if I already found the person I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with and I didn't even know it." I said. "I wonder the same thing." She said. All of a sudden, all of me by John Legend came on. "May I have this dance?" I asked as I held my hand out. "I guess." Maya said as she smiled and took my hand. We walked onto the dance floor and joined Riley and Lucas's side. But they were in their own little world to even notice us. "You look really beautiful tonight Maya." I said. A huge smile spread across her face. "Thank you, Farkle." She said. "I'm glad we're best friends." She said. "Oh my god, where is Maya? Who is this?" I teased. "Shut up. I decided to be nice to you tonight, so enjoy it while it lasts." She said. The music stopped playing and we all decided to go sit down. "Well this is fun so far." Lucas said as he gave Riley a kiss on the cheek. I looked over at Maya and she looked disgusted. "I'm so used to this." I said.

"So are you guys having a good time?" Riley asked. "Wonderful time." I said. "Riley, I need to go to the bathroom." Maya said. "Oh… Oh! We'll be right back!" Riley said as she got up and Maya followed her. "You already know that was code for girl talk." Lucas said. "Yup, so how are you?" I asked. "Much better. I don't have to worry about Michael." He said. "Yeah, I wasn't surprise though. Who wouldn't like Riley?" I said. Lucas eyed me. "Dude. Seriously?" I asked. "I'm sorry. Force of habit. I know you guys have a sibling relationship." He said. "Thank you. You never have to worry when it comes to us, you know that." I said. "I know, it's just the thing with this whole Michael situation is that Riley and I started off as friends too. Also, the guy is extremely good looking." He said as he took a sip of his punch. "And yet, Riley still chose you. So don't worry about it." I said.

Maya's POV:

"What's going on?" Riley asked as we entered the bathroom. "Farkle and I had this weird moment on the dance floor. "Aww." She said. "No, don't do that. I don't want to believe that I actually have feelings for Farkle. I mean we've been friends our whole lives. So it seems weird to me." I said. "It may seem weird now, but the best part is that you guys are best friends. There won't be that much pressure unless you add it." she said. "I know, but still me with a Minkus." I said. "Hey, he's a human being." Riley said. "I know. I'm sorry." I said. "So how are you? The whole Michael situation was very interesting to watch. You should've seen Lucas's face when he walked through the door and saw you two sitting at the window." I said. "Was it that bad?" she asked. "Oh yeah, your parents didn't even want to get involved with that." I said. "That was really unexpected." She said. "You don't say." I said. "Should we head back out?" she asked. "Oh shoot, I forgot about the guys." I laughed as we walked out of the bathroom.

Riley's POV:

We were walking back to the table where we found the baseball team talking to our dates. "Shall we dance?" Maya asked. "Why, I would love too." I said as we linked arms and made our way through the dance floor. We were dancing to "I Really like You" by Carly Rae Jepson. "We have an audience." She said as her eyes pointed to Lucas's direction. The whole baseball team was staring at us. "This is a little weird." I said. "Not at all." Maya said sarcastically. "Let's go deeper into the crowd so that they don't see us," I said. "I like that idea." Maya said as we walked through the dance floor. Pretty soon we found ourselves in the middle of the dance floor and the boys were nowhere in sight. "You think they're going to come over to us?" I asked. "Probably. But for now, spin girl." She said as she twirled me around. "Hey, only I get to that." I heard Lucas say. I turned right into his arms. "So you two decided to ditch us?" Farkle asked. "No, we just saw that you guys were busy with your baseball herd." Maya said.

"I liked your dance moves." He said as he gave me a kiss. "Of course you do," I said. We all danced the night away and after it was over, we all decided to go get something to eat. "Are you cold?" Lucas asked. "Just a little bit." I said. He took off his jacket and put it on me. "Thank you" I said as I put my arm around his waist. "So where should we go?" Farkle asked. "I don't care as long as I get food." Maya said. "Whatever you wish, madam." Farkle said. "Why don't we go get Bob's Burgers?" I said. "They're open this late?" Maya asked. "Yeah, they are." I said. "Then let's go!" Maya said. We headed off to Bob's burgers and after we ate we went down to the beach and had one more adventure before the night ended.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" I asked Lucas. "Of course I did." He said as he kissed me on the forehead. We took our usual walk by the water, it was already 12am. "You know I've been thinking about us a lot lately." He said "You have?" I asked. "Yeah, I've been thinking about how different things are going to be when we go our separate ways, it's going to be so different not being able to see you face to face. It's going to go from seeing each other in public, to seeing each other on a small little webcam. I mean face timing is better than not seeing your face or hearing your voice at all." he said. "Yeah, but we're going to survive." I said. "Yeah, I'm not giving up on you." he said.

Prom was amazing. It's sad that it had to end because it was one of the best nights of my life. But I wasn't looking forward to going back to school on Monday and having to face Michael. I wanted my friend back. But I knew not all friendships were meant to last. It's not that I had feelings for the guy, it's just he was the only person that I was really close with. But I shook it off. "Knock Knock." Farkle said as he walked into my room. "Hey, what're you doing here?" I asked. "Just wanted to know if you wanted to go get a smoothie or something." He said. "Sounds good. What place did you have in mind?" I asked. "Jamba juice?" he suggested. "Let's go!" I said as we headed out the door.

"So I'm sorry for not being such a good friend lately." I said. "What do you mean?" he asked as we walked to Jamba juice. "I mean I haven't asked you about Harvard since your dad finally came around. How is he handling that?" I asked. "He's trying his best to cope with it. I mean I know he doesn't like it deep down, but he knows it makes me happy, so he's trying to be supportive. He was trying so hard to not be like his father and he ended up being exactly like him. He realized that after I talked to him." He said. "So how is Columbia? Have you talked to Michael lately?" he asked. "Columbia is fine. I have finals coming up and Michael was my study buddy but I guess I'm on my own now. We haven't talked since the incident and I think it's best if it stays that way." I said. "Yeah, I understand. But maybe you guys will talk again and go back to being just friends." He said. "I'm making too big of deal of this. I mean I'm making it sound like I have feelings for the guy." I said. "Well, do you?" he asked. "You know I don't." I said. "Speaking of feelings, Maya?" I said. "What about her?" he asked. "Ever since prom, you guys have been weird around each other. Could you two possibly like one another?" I asked. "I don't know, I mean it's me and Maya. We've known each other our whole lives. I've been in love with her my whole life." Farkle said. "What? I thought that was just a thing in middle school." I said. "No, I mean I was "in love" with the both of you, but it was more of lust. But with Maya, I feel like I've fallen in love with her. I don't want to say anything because were best friends and she's tortured me all her life." he said.

After we ordered our smoothies, we walked over to a corner table and sat down. "So you're in love with my best friend eh?" I teased. "Stop it. I mean I want to tell her. But I don't want to go all out just to have her not feel the same way." he said. "Aww. Someone's in love." I teased again. "Really Matthews, you want to play with me right now?" he teased. "Oh Lucas, you look so handsome tonight." Farkle said in a high pitched voice. "Oh, Lucas. I don't want to and I don't plan on being with anyone else because you are the one I want." He teased again. "Okay, I get it." I said with chuckle. "Do I really sound like that?" I asked. "Yeah, sort of." He said.

 **So I'm going to end the story here. There's only three chapters left of this story. I hope you guys have enjoyed it. There's a couple surprises coming up and Riley gets another visit from her aunt. But here are the real questions, will Maya and Farkle become a thing? Will Michael and Riley talk again? Graduation is coming up, will Lucas, Maya and Farkle graduate? What about summer vacation? Will Riley and Lucas be torn apart all summer? Chapter 19 is coming up xx**


	19. Chapter 19: What A Surprise?

Chapter 19: What Surprise?

" **Key Chain" is code name for Farkle.** **You will understand this when you read the story so enjoy!**

Lucas's POV:

"Oh my, I can't believe my baby boy is graduating in a month." My mom said as she gave me a hug. "Do you have everything ready for the last senior trip?" she asked. "Well, I don't think I'm going to Disneyland." I said. "Why not? Is it because Riley isn't going?" she asked. "Yeah, I don't want to spend the last senior trip without her." I said. My mom gave me a soft smile. "But Lucas, I know Riley wouldn't want you to miss it. You know out of all the girls you dated, she's the only one I like. I mean that Eva chick was scary. I carried pepper spray with me every time we were spending time together. She seemed psychotic." She said. "Yeah, she was something like that." I said. "But I really don't want you to miss the last senior trip of your entire life." my mom said again as she walked out of my room. I laid back down on my bed and looked over at the photo of Riley on my dresser.

"Huckleberry." I heard Maya said. I flipped over and saw Maya at my door. "Maya? What're you doing here?" I asked as I sat up. "We need to talk." She said as she sat down at my desk. "Okay, this a little strange. But what do you need to talk about?" I asked. "Farkle." She said. "Farkle?" I asked. "Yes, Farkle." She said. "Well, what about him?" I asked. She looked at me for a minute. "You know what, I changed my mind I can't talk about this with you." she said as she got up. "No, tell me. Come on were best friends. You're my girlfriend's best friend." He said. "It pained you to call me your best friend didn't it?" she said. "Yes it did." I said. "Well, on prom night, Farkle and I sort of had this moment between us. It was when you and Riley were walking by the water and we were walking behind you guys. We stopped walking for a moment, we just stared at each other. Then we almost kissed. I don't know what's going on but I feel like their might be something between us." She said.

"Why don't you test the water?" I said. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Try hanging out with him more, just the two of you. Maybe even ask him out to see if this could really be something." I said. "There is no way I'm asking him out. If anything, he should ask me out." She said. "Be brave. Sometimes we like it when the girl makes the first move." I said. "I guess you're right. But it's so weird. It's even weird talking to you about it." she said. "You don't say." I said. "Lucas, Riley and Farkle are here!" my mom yelled from downstairs. "I hope it doesn't look bad if we go downstairs together." Maya said. "No, it would just look straight out weird." I said as I got up and went downstairs. As soon as I got downstairs, Riley and Farkle looked shocked when they saw Maya behind me. "Maya?" Riley said. "Hey, baby girl." I said as I walked over to give her a kiss. "What's going on here?" Riley asked before I could even touch her. "Maya came over because she needed to talk to me about something." I said. "About what?" she asked. "About the key chain." Maya said. "What key- Oh that key chain, you guys were talking about the key chain?" she said with a surprise. "As surprising as it is, yes. Now can I have a kiss?" I said as I attempted to give her another kiss.

"So where did you guys come from?" I asked as I put my arm around Riley's waist. "Oh we just went to go get smoothies." Farkle said. "And you didn't want to share?" I teased Riley. "Nope." She said proudly. "So the senior sunset is coming up, are you guys ready for that?" Farkle asked. All of a sudden, Riley started to frown. "What is the senior sunset again?" I asked. "It's where all the seniors go and hang out on the football field, eat food, sign yearbooks. All of that stuff." Maya said. "Sounds fun, but then boring at the same time." I said. "So you're not going?" Maya asked. "I don't know yet. I might be busy. Baseball stuff." I said. I looked down at Riley and she was still frowning. "So, Maya do you want to go together?" Farkle asked. "What?" she asked. "Yeah, I mean if Lucas ends up not going, I don't want to be there by myself." He said. "Why not." She said with a smile. After Farkle and Maya left. Riley still had the frown on her face. So I knew I had to come up with something, "Hey, I'm sorry but I have baseball practice in a little bit. Are you going to be okay?" I asked. "Yeah, just not being able to do all of the senior activities kind of bums me out." She said. "Hey, you have nothing to be bummed about, I promise you." I said. "Come on, I'll take you home babe." I said. I kept my arms around her as we walked out to my truck.

After practice, I had something in mind. I decided to have a surprise date for her so I stopped at the store, to get all of her favorite foods, and decorations. After I left the store, I went down to the beach, to set everything up. When that was done, I hopped back into my truck and went to go pick up Riley. I had called Farkle in advance to tell him to keep an eye on my surprise and I was going to text him when I was close. I climbed through the fire escape and knocked on her window, "Hey." She said as she opened the window. "Hey, you." I said as I climbed through the window. "I have something for you." I said as I handed her a bag. "What's this?" she asked. "Look inside," I said. She did exactly that and her face lit up when she pulled out a strapped burgundy flowy dress. "What's this for?" she asked with a smile. "Why don't you put it on and I'll show you." I said.

After she put on the dress, we headed off for the beach. "Where are we going?" she asked. "You'll see." I said as I held her hand while I drove. "I don't like surprises." She said. "Riley Matthews, that is a lie." I said. When I pulled up at the beach, I saw Farkle walk away. I quickly blinded folded Riley and walked her over to the spot. "Okay, one more step." I said. "What are you up to, Lucas Friar?" she asked. "Okay, you ready?" I asked. "Ready as I'll ever be." She said. I took off the blind fold and she put her hand over her mouth. She looked down to see a picnic blanket, with her favorite food laid out, a brown picnic basket and her favorite orchids in the middle of it all. "What is this for?" she asked. "Since you couldn't go to senior sunset, I thought I'd bring it to you. I know how much you wanted to go to it…" I said.

Riley's POV:

"I can't believe you would do this for me…" I said as she rested her head on my chest. "I'd do anything for you." he said. I was absolutely lost for words. "I love you so much." I said as I threw my arms around him and gave him a kiss. "I love you too." He said. "Is that chocolate cover strawberries?" I asked. "Yes it is." He said as we sat down. "The sun sets in about 20 minutes I believe." He said. "Well looks like we have a little bit of time to kill." I said as I leaned over and kissed him. We laid down and gazed up at the sky. He had his arms around me while I rested my head on his chest. Everything in this moment had felt so perfect.

Farkle's POV:

"Alright, let's do this." I said as I got out of the car. "Pipe down, Farkle." Maya said as she joined me my side. "No way! It's senior sunset! I deserve to go crazy because SENIORS RULE!" I yelled. "Everyday." Maya said as she rolled her eyes. We walked into the football stadium together and I laid out the picnic blanket for us. "So, can you believe graduation is in a month?" I asked. "Nope, I mean Riley and I are going to be going on a road trip for a month and then when we get back I'm only going to have two weeks until I have to leave for Italy." She said. I completely forgot about Italy. There was no way that I could tell her how I feel now. "Well, I hope we stay in touch with each other. You're going to be changing the world, Maya Hart." I said. She blushed. "Ha, yeah. Good luck at Harvard though. I'm glad you get to go to the school of your choice." She said. "Thank you." I said.

Pretty soon, music started flooding throughout the entire stadium. "You know you have to dance with me now." I teased. "But I'm eating a brownie." She wined. "Take it onto the dance floor." I said. "No way, just let me finish eating and then we'll dance." She said.

Lucas's POV:

The sun was finally setting and it was beautiful. I started to play some music to go with this moment. "I've never seen anything so beautiful." Riley said as she gazed up at the sky. "I have." I said with a smile. "Aha, nice," she said as she got up and walked away. "Riley, what's the matter?" I asked as I followed after her. "Nothing, I'm just feeling sort of down all of a sudden." She said. "Why? I thought this whole thing would make you happy." I said. "I'm really grateful that you did this for me. It means a lot to me but I just wish I could spend it with Maya and Farkle as well. I mean I love that were together, but I want the senior activities with them too." She said. "I understand completely. I mean I was being a little selfish because I really wanted you all to myself." I said. "You've been having me a lot to yourself lately. You have to share." She teased. "I know I have to." I said as I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her on the lips. "So do you want to sneak into senior sunset?" I asked. "I don't think I would have to. I tend to forget my dad is the teacher there." she said. We packed up our things and headed off to the school.

"You're not mad are you?" she asked. "No, why would I be? I got to watch the sun set with you." I said as I grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I'm sure and besides, we already packed everything up." I said. "We can always do something else because maybe Maya and Farkle need this alone time together." she said. "You do have a point, what did you have in mind, babe?" I asked. "We should go to the Levi and maybe look up at the stars." She said. "And the Levi it is." I said as I gave her a smile.

The Next Day

Cory's POV:

"Can you believe our little girl is in college already?" Topanga asked as we sat down at the kitchen table. "It's amazing. I mean we raised her the best we could and she's turning into an extraordinary person." I said as I took a sip of coffee. "I can't wait to see everything she accomplishes. It's so weird that she's in college and then in a month she's going to be walking at graduation with her fellow high school classmates." She said. "Yeah, but it's better than not being able to see that moment at all." I said. We sat there for a moment then the door buzzed. "It's Lucas." he said. "Isn't Riley with Maya?" Topanga asked. "Yeah, she is. But you never know what this could be." I said as I buzzed Lucas in. "You." I said. "Me." he said. "You know Riley isn't here." I said. "Yeah I know, I actually came here to talk to you and Mrs. Matthews." He said. "Come on in." I said.

"Lucas, what a surprise." She said as she walked over and gave him a hug. "Is Auggie here to?" he asked. "Yeah, he's upstairs. Do we need him for this?" I asked. "I would love it." he said. I called Auggie and he came running downstairs. "I didn't do it." he yelled. "You're not in trouble bubba." I said. "So, should we take a seat?" Topanga asked. "I think that's a good start." I said. "So what can we do for you?" I asked. "Well, first just let me start by saying that I respect you guys very much and you know that I am head over heels in love with your daughter." He said. "I don't like where this is going." I said to Topanga. "Just let him talk." She said. "I know we were on and off for a little bit there but I don't want to spend the rest of my life without your daughter. I don't want to and I don't plan on it. Your daughter has changed me into a better man and I'm here because I want your blessing to ask your daughters hand in marriage. Your daughter means a lot to me and I will protect her from any harm that may come her way, I will be by her side through everything that comes at her." he said.

Topanga's POV:

Oh no. Cory was about to flip out. "Lucas, that was very sweet of you to ask us for our blessing. Just how long are you going to wait to propose?" I asked. "I'm not sure. I mean I want to propose at graduation but that's probably too soon." He said. "Yeah, way too soon." Cory said. "Cory, he probably doesn't even have the ring yet." I said. "Oh no, I have a ring." He said. Cory's face dropped. "What?!" he yelled. "So why am I here?" Auggie asked. "Because I wanted you to be a part of this Auggie. I wanted to know if you would be okay with me asking your sister to be my wife." He said. "I'm okay with it, I mean you make my sister happy, but if you break her heart again. You will not live to see another day." he said. "AUGGIE!" Cory and I yelled. "I'm just saying." Auggie said.

"Lucas, I know you love our daughter very much, but have you really thought this out?" I asked. "I did. I know it may seem crazy but I don't know what more I can do to show your daughter that I'm serious about her. I mean sure I've showered her with surprises and compliments but she still has a little trouble trusting me after the incident that happened last year." he said. "And that's why you're proposing?" Cory asked, "No, I want to propose because your daughter is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She's changed me for the better, she makes me happy, and everything that I've done so far is because of her, I mean I didn't think I would be going to college, I thought I would've been this high school dropout. But when I met your daughter that all changed. She made me see a different perspective of things, she's shown me things I've never seen before. I thought the world was just a cold dark place, but she's shown me the world in a brighter way." he said. "Lucas, I know you want our blessing, but I've been in your shoes before. I proposed to Cory at our high school graduation. We were going to elope at first, but then I realized I wanted all of our family and friends there to watch us get married. Some people thought that we were way too young to get married, and I too thought that as well. But I didn't care because I knew that Cory was the one for me." I said.

"So what're you saying?" he asked. "I'm saying that you should think about this some more. Do you really want to marry her right now? Because Cory and I went through a lot, once you get married you're not going to get any special treatment. Cory's parents didn't let us move in with them, so we moved into a crappy apartment. We went through a lot because we were young and we were scared." I said. "What I'm trying to say is that, you have to really think about this. I know it's different because you guys are going to different colleges but you have to think about all of the possibilities." I said. "Lucas, do you really love our daughter?" Cory asked. "I do sir." He said. "And you really want our blessing?" he asked. "Yes I do, sir." Lucas said. "You got it." Cory said. "Cory…" I said. "This kid reminds me a lot of myself right now. Topanga, I think he deserves our blessing." He said. "Well, he did give us a good speech. Lucas, you have both of our blessings." I said.

Lucas beamed. "Thank you so much and don't worry, I'll make sure to tell you when I'm proposing." He said. "You have a ring already? Wow you move fast." I said.

Lucas's POV:

I took out the ring box that I had in my pocket and showed it to her parents. "Wow, you picked this out yourself?" Topanga asked as she admired the ring. "Why couldn't you have the same taste?" she teased Cory. "This is the ring Riley was eyeing two years ago. When we first started off as friends, we were at the mall and she said that if she were to ever get married, she would want her boyfriend to propose to her with this ring. So I got it a couple months ago because I knew that we would end up at the altar one day." I said. "You are by far the most charming young man that I have ever met." Topanga said. "Looks like you're proposing." Cory said.

 **Sorry I made this chapter super long. The conversation may be a little confusing between Lucas and Riley's parents but as I said before there's only a few chapters left in this story. I mean I have to end it at some point. But stay tuned for Chapter 20 xx**


	20. Part One: Special Moments

Part One: Special Moments

 **Since this the last chapter of the story. I decided to put it into three parts. Also, I forgot to add the second senior trip, which was to Disneyworld. From my experience, I actually went to Disneyland but it was still super fun and I loved that the entire park was closed just for us and we literally stayed up all night. But please enjoy the longest chapter ever.**

Cory's POV:

"So, Riley. I have some good news." I said at the dinner table. "What is it?" she asked. "Well, I spoke with the school principal, and I finally convinced him to let you go on the senior trip to Disneyland." I said. "What?" she said. "Yeah, I turned in the forms and paid the bill and this weekend you'll be able to go to Disneyland with your friends. Nothing but staying up all night and running around the park." I said. "Dad, thank you so much!" she said as she ran over and gave me a hug. "Anything for my sweetheart, I know how much you wanted to go on this trip, so I pulled a few strings." I said.

Riley's POV:

After dinner, I ran upstairs to tell Maya the good news. "Maya! Guess what!" I said. "What?" she asked. "I get to go to Disneyland with you guys!" I said. "Yay! This trip just got so much better!" she said. "But don't tell Lucas, I want it to be a surprise." I said. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. But I'm so happy you're coming. I didn't want to be stuck with Farkle and a depressed huckleberry." She said. "Yeah, I know you wouldn't want that." I said. "So were doing this huh?" Maya asked. "Yes, we are!" I said. After we got off the phone, I started to plan out my surprise for Lucas.

Farkle's POV:

"So, what's been going on with you?" Lucas asked as we worked out. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You've been acting weird lately, and not just any kind of weird, it's the kind when you like someone." He said. "I don't know what you're talking about." I said. "Tell me who it is." He said. I stayed silent. "Come on, were like brothers. You can tell me anything." He said as he sat down on the bench. "Alright, I mean I apologize in advance for not telling you sooner. Because Riley knows." I said. "You don't need to apologize man." He said. "I think I'm in love with Maya." I said. "Maya?" he asked. "Yeah, I got it bad and it sucks because were best friends and I never thought that it would end up like this." I said. "You never thought you would have feelings for her? Weren't you obsessed with Riley and Maya your whole life?" he asked. "Well, yeah I loved them and I still do. But it's so different now. Were all grown up and everything has changed. I mean I've always loved Maya, but I was a kid back then. I didn't really know what love was. I just knew that I adored Riley and Maya very much. But I never thought that I would have developed such strong passionate feelings for one of them." I said. "I mean maybe, I'll tell her after college." I joked.

"Why don't you go for it? It's better to tell her now than never." he asked. "She's moving across the world. How would that even be possible?" I asked. "Well, I mean if you really loved her, you would do anything just to see her. That's part of the reason why I chose to go to USC, to be closer to Riley. Because I want her in my future. Nothing is impossible when it comes to love." He said. "Yeah, you have a point there. But things are going to change between us. They already have. I mean I don't want our little teasing to stop." I said. "And it won't. I know you two, it will be your little thing." He said. "I hope so. Anyways, I'm glad were going to Disneyland tomorrow. Hopefully, I get to spend some quality time with her. I mean we had some fun at senior sunset and I'm sorry Riley can't go. I know how much you were looking forward to spending time with her and let's pray we don't have another Amber incident." I said. "I hope not. I mean I don't want to go without her. But she's making me go, she doesn't want me to miss the last senior trip." he said. "I'll probably hang out with some of the guys from team so that I wouldn't intrude on your time with Maya." He said. "You don't have to." I said. "No, but I want to. So you can see if there really is something between you two." He said.

*The Next Day*

Riley's POV:

"Okay, I have everything I need." I said as I put my stuff in the car. "Okay, have fun sweetie and we'll see you when you get back." My dad said. "I'm still shocked that you're not going." I said. "I'm pretty shocked myself." He said. "Okay, I love you guys." I said as I kissed my parents goodbye. "See you in twenty four hours!" My mom yelled as I started my car and drove off. First, I had to stop and pick up Maya and after that we headed off for the school. "It's 2am. This is way too early for me." she said. "I know, but I mean were going to spending 24 hours, in Disneyland together. It will be worth it, my child." I said. "Are you excited to surprise Lucas?" she asked. "Of course I am-oh shoot." I said. "What?" Maya asked. "We took my car. Lucas is going to know that I'm coming now." I said. "I'll text Farkle and tell him to distract Lucas and get him away from the parking lot. But were all meeting in the gymnasium anyways." Maya said. "Thank you." I said.

We finally pulled into the parking lot and I couldn't contain my excitement. I just wanted to see the look on Lucas's face already. "I am so glad we did not crash the last two minutes." Maya said as we got out of the car. "Sorry, I got a little excited." I said. "A little?" she asked. "Okay, a lot. But does Farkle know were here?" I asked. "Yeah I just texted him." Maya said. We grabbed our bags and left to the gym.

Lucas's POV:

"I am so tired man." I said as Farkle and I put our bags down. "It's going to be worth it." Farkle said. "Not really. I mean I won't have Riley with me." I said. "You guys need to spend some time apart. It's healthy." Farkle said. "I know, but every couple is different and were the ones who have separation anxiety. It is bad." I said. "You don't say." Farkle teased. "Who did Maya sign up with?" I asked. "Well, she was going to sign up with Riley but I guess since Riley can't go. I think she signed up with Smackle and their on bus two." He said. "What bus are we on again?" I asked. "Were on bus three, since bus two got filled up so quickly." Farkle said. "Aww, darn I'm on bus two." I heard someone say. I turned around to find Riley standing there. "Riley?" I said with a huge smile. "Are you just going to stand there?" she asked. I picked her up and spun her around. "What're you doing here?" I asked. "My dad pulled some strings so I get to go on the trip with you guys." She said. "I'm glad you're coming. Now I won't be lonely." I said as I kissed her. "Yeah, but you're going to have to survive 13hours without me." she said. "I won't be able to survive." I said.

We all boarded our buses and Farkle and I took a seat in the middle row. "13 hours of sitting. I don't know if I can do it man." Farkle said. "I can't do it either. But we got this man. We have food, movies, music. We have our phones." I said. "There's so much technology. All I need to do now is take over the world." He said.

Maya's POV:

After 13 hours of movies, music, naps, and taking pictures. We finally made it to Disneyworld. "I bet you Lucas is waiting for you once you get off this bus." I said to Riley. "I don't think so. I mean he has to follow his bus driver's order." She said. "What if he runs pass the driver, hops off the bus, jumped on this bus and takes you away?" I asked. "Now you're just being crazy. Even though that sounds like something he would do." she said. "Alright, one row at a time. When I point to your row, you may get up." The bus driver said.

After we got dismissed from the bus, we walked over to our leader to give us instructions. I looked over at bus 2 and they were already talking to their leader. "Huckleberry looks like he just wants to run over here and carry you away." I said. Riley looked over at the other group to find Lucas shooting lovebird eyes at her. "That boy is in love." I said. "Yes, he is. It's adorable." She said as she turned back around to face me. "Okay, you guys can browse for two hours but we have check in at 5pm. Then after that the park is officially all yours. So go have fun!" our leader said. We all separated and Maya purposely dragged me away to the roller coasters. "So, Riley and Maya for the first half of this trip?" I said. "Well, of course." Riley said. "I kind of wanted to spend some quality time with Farkle after check in, to see if there really is something between us." I said.

Lucas's POV:

"Where did Riley go?" I asked. "She's probably spending some time with Maya. You'll probably get to spend time with her after check in." Farkle said. "Well, why can't we all hang out as a group?" I said. "You have a point there. Maybe we will at some point tonight." Farkle said. "I don't want to jinx this. But I feel like our group is falling apart." I said. "Why do you say that?" he asked. "We haven't really been hanging out as a group anymore. If I'm not with you, I'm with Riley, my family or some guys from the team. If you're not with me, you're usually with Maya, Riley or people from the debate team. If Riley and Maya aren't with one of us, they're either with each other or with other people. The last time we ever hung out as a group was prom. That was last month." I said. "Wow, I guess you're right. But maybe this separation is good. We don't have to hang out every single day as a group and when we do, we make moments that last forever. So don't worry too much about the group falling apart because were not." Farkle said.

"I think I see Riley and Maya." Farkle said. But before he could say anything else, I was already making my way over to them. As soon as I caught up to them, I wrapped my arms around Riley. "I wonder who this could be." She said sarcastically. She turned around and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Hi." She said with that adorable smile of hers. "Hi." I said. "Let's not have a repeat of eighth grade." Maya said. "So how long do we have until check in?" Farkle asked. "We should head there now." Maya said. "Are you guys just going to stand there and stare at each other or are you guys coming?" Farkle said.  
We quickly snapped out of it and followed Maya and Farkle to the check in building.

Rileya's POV:

"Maya hart?" our leader called out. She was doing a head count and making sure that everyone was here. I looked over at the other group and Lucas was standing there making faces at me. I smiled and looked back over at my leader. "Riley Matthews?" our leader called out. "Right here." I said as I raised my hand. She checked off my name and continued to call out others. Once she finished, she went over rules and precautions. "Alright, the park is yours! If you have any questions or if something happens do not hesitate to get help! There will be supervisors all over the park. Have fun seniors!" she said as we all ran out the door. "Well, I'll see you at the rave tonight." Maya said as she walked over to Farkle. "Are you ready for a magical night with your one and only?" Lucas said as he came up behind me. "But my one and only is with Farkle." I joked. "Ha, very funny." He said as he put his arm around me. "So what do you want to do first?" he asked. "Let's go see Dolphins!" I said as I took him by the hand and dragged him off.

Farkle's POV:

After a few hours of riding all of the rides in Magic kingdom, we finally sat down. "Did we really just do that?" Maya asked with a laugh. "Yeah, I guess we did. It was very fun. It's always fun with you." I said. Maya's cheeks began to turn red and a huge smile spread across her face. "Likewise. I'm glad were best friends." She said. "Me too." We sat there and looked at each other for a moment. Everything seemed right. "So, are you ready to live in Italy for the next four years?" I asked. "Yeah, I am. But I'm coming back afterwards because I don't want to be so far away." she said. "Why?" I asked. "Well, I know we're all going to be separated for four years, but I know we're all going to come back to New York." She said. I frowned. "Maya, I don't think that's going to happen." I said. "And why not?" she asked. "Because after college, things aren't going to go back to the way they were. We're growing up Maya." I said. "Don't be insane, of course we're going to come back to our lives in New York." She said. "Maya, we're not. Riley and Lucas are probably going to move somewhere else after college and I'm probably going to stay in California. I mean we will find time for each other when our lives start to slow down." I said.

"Our families are here. Of course there's a reason to come back here." Maya said. "I know, and of course we will find time for each other but sometimes things don't go as planned you know." I said. "Farkle, we're all going to be together again. I just know. Why don't you?" Maya asked. "Because the reality of this is that we all say were going to stay in touch, catch up but life always catches up to us and we get so busy that we end up being out of touch." I said.

Lucas's POV:

"You just had to choose the front row?" I asked Riley as we got splashed with water. "I wanted to see the dolphins up close." She said. "The things I do for love." I said as I put my arm around her. "So, how do you think things are going to Maya and Farkle?" she asked. "I hope their going good. I really hope they get to tell each other how they feel." I said. "I really hope they do too." Riley said. After we saw the dolphins, we met up with Farkle and Maya and headed to the rave.

The whole night was amazing, we danced, we sang, we went on rides. The best part for me was being able to spend my last senior trip the right way with Riley.

 **I've kept you guys waiting long enough. I kept having writers block with this. But the next chapter will be better. Because the core four finally graduate together! What's in store for graduation today? What's going to happen between Farkle and Maya? Are they meant to be? Or are they meant to be just friends? Who knows, stay tuned xx**


	21. Part Two: Graduation

Part Two: Graduation

Riley's POV:

"I don't like graduation practice." I said as I stood next to Farkle. "I don't either and I don't like how Lucas and Maya are so far away from us." He said. "Were going to be separated too, you know. I have to go sit on the other side of the field once we get to the red line." He said "Let's enjoy this moment while it last." I said. "Hopefully it doesn't last too long because it is burning out here." he said. I looked over at the other line and I saw Lucas staring at me with that cute little smile of his. "Thank god today is the last day of grad practice." Farkle said. "Hmm-what oh yeah." I said as I snapped out of my gaze. "Daydreaming, I see. How does it feel to be back on the football field again?" he asked. "It feels a little weird, I'll say that." I said. Once we got to the red line, Farkle and I separated to our rows.

After grad practice, we all went to Starbucks to cool ourselves down. "Practice was brutal today." Maya said. "We were just sitting in the sun." Lucas said. "For like two hours." Maya said. "Well at least we weren't in a desert." I said. "It felt like we were." Maya said. "Everyone took all the good tables and we would probably have to sit outside. In the hot air." Farkle said. "Don't worry, we'll have our iced coffee to cool us off." I said.

Lucas's POV:

"So, babe what do you want to drink?" I asked Riley. "I'll just get a Grande caramel ribbon crunch. But I'll pay for It." she said. "You're funny. I'm paying." I said as I took out my wallet. "Riley, you know you like it when he pays for you." Maya teased. "Of course I do, but maybe I want to pay for myself sometimes." She said. "Well when you're with me, you don't get to." I teased. After we got our drinks, we all sat down at the table and started to talk about summer. "So what should we do this summer?" Farkle asked. "Well, Riley and I are going on a road trip for about a month. My dad has a cabin in Vermont and we were going to have a girls get away." Maya said. "I can't believe you're going to take my girlfriend away from me for a month." I said. "Oh, get over it huckleberry." Maya said.

"And when you get back you're only going to have two weeks with us." Farkle said. "I know, but we can make the most of It." she said. "Yeah, summer is going to be full of surprises." I said as I winked at Riley. She had a confused look on her face because she had no idea what I was trying to hint at her. "Why don't you guys come to Europe with me?" Maya asked. "Before summer ends, we can travel through Europe together. We can go to Rome, Italy, Paris." She said. "But don't you want to spend time with your family as well?" Riley asked. "I will. Of course I will. But I mean I want to spend time with you guys as well." She said. "I can't believe I'm actually hearing those words come out of your mouth." I joked.

Maya's POV:

"So Europe?" I asked. "Yup!" they all said. "Oh, I can't wait!" Riley said as she jumped in her seat. "Anyways, I have to go. My dad is having a dinner tonight and I told him I would help him. I'll see you guys later." Farkle said as he got up. "Yeah, I have to go too. My mom is having a garage sale and I better be there so that she doesn't sell anything important to me. I'll see you later babe." Lucas said as he gave Riley a kiss. "Well, that leaves just us two." I said. "I guess it does. What should we do?" she asked. "What we always do… Shop?" I suggested. "We shop way too much. I mean we work at H&M. But the discounts don't help as much." she said. "Well, it's better than nothing, my darling." I said. "Very true. But still we have to stop shopping Maya." We looked at each other and burst out laughing. "I think it would be cool if our families came with us to Europe so I don't have to separate times. We'll all be there together." I said. "Yeah that sounds like a good idea." Riley said.

Riley's POV:

After Maya and I went our separate ways, I drove to Lucas's house to check out the garage sale. He was right. I saw him following his mom around and convincing her to not sell any of his old possessions. "You're going to have to let go eventually." I heard his mom say as I walked up to the house. "Riley!" Lucas's mom said as she dropped a ball and walked over to hug me. "Hi, Mrs. Friar!" I said. "Look at you, are you here to browse or see Lucas?" she asked. "A little bit of both." I said with a smile. "Well, help yourself honey and feel free to stay for dinner tonight. I'm making my famous lasagna." She said as she went back to customers. "So, how's it going over here?" I asked as I walked up to Lucas. "I've been able to save a few of my things." Lucas said. I picked up a cape from his box. "Like this?" I asked as I held up the cape. "That's Dylan's." He said. "Sure it is." I said as I put it around him. "Now, you're back to being a little boy again." I said as I finish tying the strings together.

"Lucas, you are not keeping the cape." His mom said as she walked over to him. I started to feel a little guilty. "What if I buy the cape?" I asked. "It's a dollar for you." she said with a smile. I gave her a dollar. Lucas was about to take the cape off but I stopped him. "No, the cape is yours." I said as I gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you," he said. "Do you want to go inside?" he asked. "Please." I said as he took my hand and guided me inside. "So what do you want to do?" he asked. "Is that a tree house?" I asked as I looked out into his backyard. "How come I've never noticed that?" I asked. "We finally cut down the tree that has been blocking It." he said as he came over and stood by my side. "Do you want to go up there?" he asked. "Hell yeah." I said as I opened the backyard door.

We climbed up the tree house and sat down on the wooden floors (hsm3). "So, can you believe were graduating tomorrow?" he asked. "No, I wish time would just slow down." I said as I put my head on Lucas's shoulder. "I don't either but at the same time I don't want it to slow down. I just want to get college done and over with." he said. "Why is that? Don't you want to get the full college experience?" I asked. "Not without you." he said. "We'll visit each other as much as we can, but hey we still have graduation and summer left to spend together. Let's not spend it sad." I said. Lucas kissed the top of my head and we sat in silence until dinner time.

*Graduation Day*

Lucas's POV:

This was it. We were graduating today. I really hope that I don't get choked up and start crying my eyes out as we walk through the stadium. It wouldn't be too manly of me. I was tying my tie when all of a sudden my mom walked into my room. She covered her mouth and her eyes began to water. "I can't believe my baby boy is graduating high school today." She said as she walked over and adjusted my tie. "I can't believe it either. But I won't be that far away mom and I'll visit as much as I can." I said. "I know, but it was just like yesterday you were in diapers." My mom said. "Mom." I said. "I'm sorry, I still have all summer to convince you to stay in New York." She joked. "Is Riley coming over?" she asked. "You really like her don't you?" I asked. "Yes I do, she has been a wonderful influence on you and you better not let her go again." she said. "I don't plan on it. I've actually been thinking about marriage." I said. My mom stopped and looked at me. "Marriage?" she asked. "Yeah…" I said as I took a step back. "Lucas, one step at time. Let's graduate first because I'm not ready to see you get married yet." she said. "Don't worry mom, I'm just saying I know that one day, I'm going to marry that girl." I said.

Riley's POV:

"I love this dress!" I said as I spun around. I was wearing a two strapped, white v-neck dress that had a short flowy bottom. It made me feel like an angel. Maya on the other hand was wearing a tight baby blue dress with a conservative top. "We look amazing, Maya." I said as I put my arm around her. "I can't believe it is graduation day. I've been waiting for this day to come." She said. "I know you have, peaches." I said as I put on simple black wedges. "Well it's almost five, we have to head off to the school now." I said. We grabbed our caps and gowns and drove off to the school.

As soon as we got to the school, Farkle and Lucas were already trying to open the car door to get us out. "Whoa there," I said as I unbuckled my seatbelt. "What's with all the excitement?" Maya said as she got out. "It's graduation day! SENIORS RULE!" Farkle yelled. "Hey…" Lucas said as he planted one on me. We all walked to the gymnasium to put on our caps and gowns. "Looks like guys on that side and girls on the other. See ya fellas!" Maya said as she took my hand and took me the other side. We put on our caps and gowns and went to go sit in our assigned seats. Since Farkle and I both have last names that started with the letter "M" we sat in the same section.

The principal then took the floor. "Alright seniors, this is the day you all have been waiting for. I am so proud of you all. This is the last day before you guys take on the world. Are you guys ready to graduate?!" he said. We all cheered as loud as we could. "Alright! Let's do this!" he said and with that the ceremony began and each row started walking out one by one. This is it. I said to myself. I started to get emotional. But I had to keep it in until after the ceremony. I didn't want to cry when I was walking out onto the stadium. As soon as we got onto the field, everyone was cheering and it made it harder to not cry. Because this would be the last time I walk this field until. This will be the last time I will be at John Adams high. This is the last time I'll be a senior. The rest of my life starts right now.

We found our seats and the honor students did their speech and then it was my turn to talk. I took a deep breath and went up to the podium. "To my fellow classmates, teachers, to all the families here tonight. Looks like we did it. Today is the last day before the rest of our life begins. We have been one big family ever since the first day of freshmen year. When we were getting out of our parents cars, with our id's hanging over our necks, and praying we don't get trash canned by upperclassmen. From breaking some rules, to fighting for what we believe in. I can't believe this is the last time we will be attending John Adams. All the lessons we've learned, all the memories we've made, we'll keep with us. John Adams is a place where we are tested to our abilities, where a super genius, becomes more than what he's labeled to be, where a rebel turns into believer, where a cowboy meets a city girl. We all stayed by each other's side as we entered the high school world and we plan on leaving the same. So I guess we really are one big family." I said. Once I finished my speech and went back to my seat, the principal took over again. "It's time for roll call." He said. Everyone cheered.

"…Isaiah Babino… Lucas Friar... Charlie Gardner… Maya Hart… Riley Matthews… Farkle Minkus…" the principal continued to call out the names and once we finished, we waited for the principal to give us his speech and throw our caps in the air. "…Alright families, friends, I present to you… the class of 2015!" he yelled. We all cheered and threw our caps in the air. "We did it!" Farkle said as he ran over to me. "We're college students now!" I said. Pretty soon, Lucas and Maya joined us. Lucas picked me up and spun me around, "Looks like we did it, Matthews." He said. "WE ARE OUT OF HERE!" Maya yelled as she jumped up and down. After a little, our families had joined us. We all took pictures and congratulated the other classmates. Then we headed off to grad night. We walked out of the stadium arms linked, we walked out as kings.

 **The core four has finally graduated high school! Off to the college life they go! I apologize if I was all over the place with this. But prepare yourselves for the SEQUEL. It's going to be a continuation of this story and you guys will be able to see how well their summer went and what's in store for college. So keep a look out for it**


	22. Important

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that the sequel to this story is up. It's been for two weeks now for those of you who didn't know. It is called "Girl Meets Distance." Enjoy!


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